COMMUNITY CIVICS 



-» ■ ur 



a4 




Copyright, 1921, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published January, igsi. 



JAN 26 192, 



Nortoooti Press 

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



8)CU605518 



PREFACE 

"The old order changeth" and new methods take the 
place of the old. The old methods of teaching the science 
of government, outworn and laid aside, give place to a 
wider interpretation of the subject and a wider application 
of its principles. The teaching of the mechanics of govern- 
ment is not enough; the children must learn how people 
live together in communities and how they may best share 
in the activities arising from this life together. Along with 
the other great changes it wrought, the World War did more 
to bring about this change in the teaching of civics than 
anything since the subject was placed on the list of studies 
for our schools. The whole nation has awakened to the 
fact that the most important work of the teacher is the 
making of citizens; that the best tool for that work is the 
study of the relationship of the individual to his fellow man 
and to the government instituted for his benefit. 

This book is the outcome of attempts to teach the children 
in our local schools something of this new idea of government, 
something of their duties in community life. A great deal 
of the matter in the text is theirs, and many of the questions 
and problems are those asked by the children during the 
recitation period. Nothing has been included in the text 
that has not "worked." 

The book is offered in the hope that it may have some 
share in the making of better citizens; in teaching the 
children that one may be just as truly a good citizen in the 



vi PREFACE 

home and the school as elsewhere; that the one who is a 
good citizen in the home and the school is the one who will 
be the good citizen when grown up. Again, it is hoped 
that the book will train some of the coming generation to 
understand their responsibility toward the fellow members 
of their community and will arouse interest in the funda- 
mental principles of government activities. If it has a share 
in such a work, time and labor will not have been spent in 
vain. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I.' The Beginning of a Community .... 1 

II. The Home, the Family, and the Community . . 11 

III. Education 30 

IV. Government and Health 51 

V. Protection of Life and Property .... 66 

VI. Government and Play 80 

VII. Transportation 99 

VIII. Communication . . 123 

IX. Migration . .138 

X. The Correction of Wrong-doers and the Courts iM 

XI. The Needy and Dependent 171 

XII. Government and Making a Living: Land . . 183 

XIII. Government and Making a Living: Labor . . 197 

XIV. Government and Making a Living: Capital. . 212 
XV. Beauty in the Local Community .... 224 

XVI. The Government of a Small Community . . 242 

XVII. The Government of a Larger Community . . 253 

XVIII. The Lawmakers of State and Nation . . . 266 

XIX. The State Executives 281 

XX. The President . . 290 

XXI. The President's Advisers. . . . . . 301 

vii 



VUl 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

XXII. Political Parties and Elections 

XXIII. How Government Pays Its Expenses 

XXIV. The Making of the Federal Constitution 
XXV. The Constitution of the United States 

Appendix: The Constitution . 

Index 



PAGE 

330 
341 
349 
354 
363 
383 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



1. A log cabin 

2. The Van Schaick house 

3. Main street of a small community 

4. Main street of a larger community 

5. Dangers of city streets (four scenes) 

6. A street of fine homes 

7. A modern home .... 

8. What war does to homes 

9. A rural school .... 

10. The high school in a small community 

11. State school for the training of teachers 

12. New York State Education Building 

13. A modern school building . 

14. The library of a small community 

15. A river in flood .... 

16. Cleaning up .... 

17. Poster of a Department of Health 

18. The hand of health . 

19. A bad fire 

20. Fire apparatus of a small community 

21. A horse-drawn steamer 

22. A modern pumper . . . 

23. A state trooper .... 

24. Transporting troops in war time . 

25. The right way to get off a trolley car 

26. Ball playing in the street (two views) 

27. Dangers of street play (three views) 

ix 



PAGE 

3 
5 
6 

8 

16, 17 
18 
23 
27 
35 
37 
38 
41 
45 
46 
54 
56 
57 
63 
69 
70 
71 
71 
74 
75 
77 
83 
86, 87 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



28. Cottages at Los Angeles Municipal Camp 

29. The circus . 

30. A ball game 
3L A Boy Scout camp 

32. A stagecoach 

33. A motor barge 

34. Development of shipping on the Hudson 

35. The DeWitt Clinton .... 

36. The Twentieth Century Limited 

37. Scenes on the Panama Canal (two views) 

38. Inter-city transportation 

39. A bridge of modern construction 

40. A safe railroad crossing 

4L No matter how careful (two views) 

42. A government official .... 

43. Switchboard of a telegraph company . 

44. Telephone construction 

45. Radio students at naval station . 

46. Sending communications in war time . 

47. Airplanes in flight .... 

48. The Statue of Liberty 

49. Immigrants at Ellis Island . 

50. Lower New York .... 
5L The stocks ...... 

52. A model lock-up in a small community 

53. Scene in a court room .... 

54. Prison cells in a modern prison . 

55. Ball game in a prison .... 

56. Prisoners working in prison shop 

57. An orphan asylum .... 

58. Work of the Red Cross in peace . 

59. Work of the Red Cross in Avar 

60. Homes for dependents .... 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



XI 



61. What carelessness does to forests (two 


views) 


62. A fire lookout tower 


63. A herd of buffalo 






64. Ring-necked pheasants 






65. Wild turkeys .... 






66. Newsboys 






67. Child labor on the farm 






68. A family working on flag pins 






69. A modern reaper .... 






70. Cutting grain with a cradle 






71. Cutting grass with a scythe 






72. Modern methods of harvesting . 






73. A salt mine 






74. An auto-crane unloading cargo . 






75. A bank in a small community 






76. Stone house near livingstone 






77. A badly kept street 






78. The same street beautified . 






79. A back yard garden 






80. Back yard before beautifying 






81. Back yard after beautifying 






82. Tree-lined avenues 






83. **Be aye stickin' in a bit tree" 






84. A child's garden . 






85. A small community 






86. Our largest community 






87. A glimpse of the Capitol 






88. The United States Capitol . 






89. The Congressional Library 






90. The Waterford lock . 


t 




91. Stocking a stream with trout 






92. A movable dam . 






93. A road unfler construction (four '^ 


v^iews 


) 



PAGE 

. 187 

. 188 

. 192 

. 193 

. 194 

. 200 

. 201 

. 203 

. 205 

. 206 

. 207 

. 209 

. 213 

. 215 

. 219 

^. 225 

'. 226 

. 227 

. 229 

. 232 

. 233 

. 234 

. 235 

. 239 

. 243 

. 256 

. 271 

. 275 

. 278 

. 282 

. 283 

. 284 
286, 287 



xii ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

94. The White House 291 

95. The Washington Monument ...... 295 

96. The Pan American Building 304 

97. A war photograph from an airplane 309 

98. The advance 310 

99. Cadets at dress parade . . . . . . .311 

100. West Point 312 

101. U. S. S. Nevada 314 

102. New National Museum 316 

103. Separating pine cones . . . . .. . . .318 

104. The work of forest rangers 319 

105. Arrowrock Dam 320 

106. A rovv' of imperial apple trees 321 

107. A good catch 323 

108. A political cartoon 331 

109. 4 political cartoon 334 

110. Voter entering booth 336 

111. Voting a split ticket 337 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

It is hoped that no teacher will be satisfied to assign 
pages of this book to be learned. It is expected that the 
book will be used as a basis for the study of general condi- 
tions, but such study will be of no value unless the facts are 
applied to one's own community, its activities, and what- 
ever mechanics of government are necessary to make these 
activities function properly. 

The matter in the text is arranged in such a way that it 
will give the teacher considerable latitude in its use. If 
it seems best to study the national government before that 
of the local community, it may be done. If it seems wise to 
use a method other than that of the historical approach, 
the text will lend itself to that method. But whatever 
method of approach to a topic is used, the teacher should 
use that method consistently. 

The questions found at the end of each chapter are, in a 
lairge part, those asked by the pupils in our classes in Com- 
munity Civics during the past few years. Such questions 
naturally give the viewpoint of the young citizen, and for 
that reason should be of help. It is not to be expected, 
however, that all the questions will be used in every class. 
Most teachers will have problems peculiar to their own 
community ; the questions asked in the classroom will have 
a greater bearing on the local problems than any textbook 
questions could have. The live teacher will find it extraor- 
dinarily easy to get questions from the children, — questions 

xiii 



XIV SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

that show an amazing amount of thought concerning the 
life and government of the community. 

Anything that will bring the children into actual touch 
with the activities of government, — a visit to the city hall, 
the post office, the library, the state capitol, or interviews 
with the officials of the community, — will add much to the 
interest of the work. Pictures, documents, and reports 
should be a part of the daily work. 

It is hoped that the teachers of civics will see to it that 
the girls in their classes have particular attention. Such 
a sudden change has taken place in the political status of 
women during the past few years that it has brought to the 
polls many who have had no experience in helping govern. 
Girls who always "hated civics" are now placed in a position 
in which they must intelligently share in the activities of 
government. The authors have included in both text and 
questions much material that will be of interest to this the 
larger part of our students and unfortunately the group 
most neglected in the teaching of the subject in the past. 

It is believed that the historical method of approach used 
in connection with most of the topics discussed will help to 
smooth the path of the teacher. Having just finished, or 
being about to finish their American history, the pupils will 
find it easier to understand that "history should prepare for 
political duties'' and that our institutions and their activities 
have arisen from those very events about which they have 
learned in a subject recently studied. 



E\)t American's Creeti 

I hdkht in t!)e 5Enit£ti States of America 
as a gobcrnmcnt of tf)e people, bg ^^^ people, for 
t!)e people; iBf)O0e just potoers are tieribeti from 
i\)e consent of tjje gofaerneti; a tiemocracg in a 
republic; a sovereign state of mang sobereitjn 
states; a perfect union, one anti inseparable; 
establisi^eti upon tliose principles of frcetiom, 
equalitg, justice, anti |)umanitjj for toljiclj Amer- 
ican patriots sacrificed tfjeir libcs anti fortunes. 

31 tf)erefore beliebe it is nw butu to mg coun= 
trg to lobe it; to support its constitution; to 
obeg its latus; to respect its flag, ant) to befent 
it against all enemies. 

— SHilliam Cglcr Page 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 

CHAPTER I 

THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 

A pretty little brook canie running down to a large river. 
Here it murmured to the trees along its banks, there bab- 
bled away over the stones, and rushing onward, sparkled 
brightly in the sun. Finally, just before its waters mingled 
with those of the river, it fell headlong over a precipice. 
Here it boiled and foamed angrily at its downfall, but at 
last it quietly entered the broad waters of the river. 

To the northward, winding its way along this river's 
bank, led a dim trail. Some five or six miles up the river 
was a little settlement. Across the river and at about an 
equal distance to the southward, was a town, located about 
a fort. This was the center of an already growing trade. 

One day, more than a hundred years ago, where the waters 
met, two little children were playing on the sandy shore, 
not far from the northward trail. The little girl was making 
a house out of sand, and the boy, some years older, was try- 
ing to make a boat out of some driftwood which he had 
picked up on the shore of the river. A short distance away 
their mother was getting the mid-day meal. In a rough 
hut built of boughs were piled a few household utensils 
and the scanty furniture to be placed in the new home. 
From a distance in the woods came the sound of a woods- 
man's ax, and not long after came the sound of a falling 

1 



2 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

tree. The crash told that a clearing was being made in the 
forest, and that a log cabin was in process of construction. 

On the bank of the river, near where the children were at 
play, could be seen a curious, roughly-built, flat-bottomed 
barge. Just as the sound of the falling tree had died 
away, from across the river came a loud call. The cry 
was answered by some one in the forest, and there soon 
appeared, hurrying toward the bank, a strong, roughly-clad 
man, the wood-chopper. As he hurried toward the children 
they begged their father to take them on a ride across in 
the boat, but afraid there might not be room for the pas- 
sengers, the father was forced to refuse. He pushed off the 
awkward, flat-bottomed boat, and jumping in, set out for 
the opposite shore, where some one was waiting to be fer- 
ried over. Here, then, was the reason for this first settler 
on this spot. He was going to be a ferryman and act as 
a link to connect those who had settled farther up the river 
with those who had settled in the town below. 

As time went on, the settler finished the cabin, cleared 
away a large portion of the forest and established a good 
ferrying business. One of the men whom he had ferried 
over thought he saw that money could be made by build- 
ing a tavern where travelers who were belated could stop 
for the night. Thus a second house was built not far from 
the first one, alongside the trail that led to the north. 
On a busy day quite a number of people could be found at 
the tavern, waiting either for their meals or for transfer by 
the ferry. 

Somewhat later, another traveler noticed that many of 
the horses needed shoes. The rough trails and bad roads 
worked such havoc with the horses' hoofs and the wagons 
that many of the horses and the few heavy wagons needed 



THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 3 

attention. It was not long before the blacksmith with the 
help of the two other men had put up his forge, and the 
merry clang of the anvil resounded through the woods. A 
log cabin for his family added a third to the two already 
built near the north trail. 




A Log Cabin 



Photo by C. Earl SaMn 



This is a building constructed in recent years but built like that of the 
cabin of the boy and girl. Note how the logs are fitted together, and the 
"chinking" between the logs. 



One day one of the travelers, while waiting for his dinner, 
attracted by the scolding of the brook as it fell over the prec- 
ipice, took a walk through the woods to the spot where the 
stream came tumbling down. Far sighted, he saw what a 
splendid place this would be for a mill. The river pro- 
vided an easy means of transportation for the grain to be 
brought either up or down the river ; the brook, he learned, 



4 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

never ran dry, so there was always water to give power to 
the mill. Before long the splashing of the water over the 
water-wheel and the whirring of the millstones were added 
to the noises of the forest, and a fourth cabin was built near 
the others for the family of the miller. 

The new families that had come to the river's bank, 
brought other children to play with the two whom we have 
seen by the northward trail. They played about all day 
long or helped their parents as they were able, in the sim- 
pler tasks of the home, the tavern, or the mill. These first 
homes were busy places. Neither father nor mother had 
much time for the children. Mother had to make clothes 
for them, from the spinning and weaving of the yarn to the 
sewing of the cloth. Father had to kill the animals to 
furnish the leather for the shoes and sometimes for the boy's 
trousers. Food was plentiful if one took time to hunt or 
fish. Grain could be had at the mill. There was not much 
chance for the children to get an education. But as the father 
or the mother had time, sometimes during the long winter 
evenings before the fireplace, sometimes while they were at 
work during the long summer days, they usually managed to 
teach the children to read, write and '' cipher." 

Several years passed, and many new homes had been 
added to the first ones. A little settlement had sprung up ; 
the glowing forge sent sparks from the blacksmith's shop; 
a shoemaker visited the different homes at stated intervals ; 
a store offered many articles for sale ; and the children no 
longer ran at large through the settlement. The school- 
master had come, and a log schoolhouse had been built. 
The children were in school only part of the winter months, 
but at least they were able to get more education than before 
the coming of the schoolmaster. 



THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 5 

Some\:ime within this period a serious crime was com- 
mitted in the little community. At this crisis the citizens 
met together and chose one of their number to act as judge 
and one to take care of the prisoner, who had been captured 
in the very act of committing his crime. Several of the 
settlers were chosen to decide as to the guilt of the prisoner 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
The Van Schoick House 

This was the home of one of the early Dutch settlers. It was built so well 
that it is occupied as a home to-day. 

in the trial which followed, and the one who presided at the 
trial pronounced sentence. Here was the beginning of gov- 
ernment as we know it. Later other settlers came, and 
officials were chosen to carry on the governmental business 
of the community. Every one could not give up his time to 
attend to the necessary duties, so some were chosen and 
paid by the rest of the community to do what was needful. 



6 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



Not many houses had been built before paths and roads 
began to stretch out toward difYerent points of the compass. 
One went out to the mill, another wandered away along the 
river following the old trail to the settlement to the north- 
ward, and yet another went eastward to the ferry. It was 
not long before these began to be known by the names of 
Mill Street, River Street, and Ferry Street, and houses were 
built on each side of them. 




Courtesy of Hon. C. L. CarrieT 
The Main Street of a Small Community 

Along these rough roads went the life of the community. 
In general the streets followed the course of the earlier 
paths. Since the path along the river had been crooked, 
River Street was crooked too, as was also the street that 
followed the winding path along the hill to the eastward. 
As the town increased in size it became necessary to name 
the streets and number the houses in order that any par- 
ticular house might be found easily. In this manner the 
pioneer settlement became a village laid out in regular order. 



THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 7 

Many communities have grown up as did the one we have 
been reading about. Not all were started by a ferryman, 
but the beginnings of all were somewhat alike. There was 
always some reason for the founding of the town. Some 
were often founded deliberately — New York was founded as a 
trading post. Streets were named from some peculiarity; 
for example, Wall Street in New York City was named from 
the wall which shut off the lower part of the city from the 
fields above. Division Street in one of the cities of the 
Hudson Valley received its name from the fact that it marks 
a division of the farm of one of the patroons. Some named 
their streets from birds, trees, or animals. In a certain city 
are Quail, Bobolink, and Robin streets; in another are 
Maple, Hawthorn, Pine Woods, and Linden avenues. Other 
communities named their streets for local or national 
celebrities or for the presidents. In some of the newer 
towns which were laid out by a surveyor, the streets run- 
ning in one direction are numbered, and those crossing at 
right angles are lettered, as in the capital of the nation, 
Washington. 

We shall see as we go on in our study of government, 
that streets are of great importance to a community. (See 
Chapter IV.) It is along these streets that much of the com- 
munity life is centered. Many of the laws passed have to do 
with the streets and the protection of the people in them. 

As has been said above, a large proportion of the different 
communities of our country have been begun in a manner 
similar to the one about which you have read. Some man 
brings his family and there builds his house. Others are 
attracted, and after a time a community grows up. If the 
situation offers exceptional advantages for commerce or 
manufacturing, a city may grow out of the little com- 



8 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



munity. The questions of government, which are so simple 

.among the few, become greater as the town increases in size. 

More officials need to be appointed, better schools have to 

be built, children have to be taught the rules of community 




Courtesy of RtUherford Hayner 
The Main Street of a Larger Community 
Compare this picture with the one on page 6. 

life, and all the complex life of the city and village has to be 
taken care of. 

Young people have their part in the solving df these prob- 
lems, and the better they do their part the better is the com- 
munity. That community is the best in which the children 
are the most law-abiding. If respect for the law is taught to 
children, when they are old they will not forget. 



THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 9 

To be law-abiding does not mean merely a long list of 
*' don'ts " ; for we shall find out that there are just as many 
"do's" as there are ''don'ts." Not only this, but young 
people have as many rights as they have duties. As many 
laws are passed to protect the rights of children and help 
them to be law-abiding citizens as are passed for the pro- 
tection and help of older people. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. Who were the first settlers in your town? What were their 
names ? Why did they come ? What was the date of the first settle- 
ment of the town? Of what nationality were the first settlers? 

2. What Indian tribes formerly occupied the land now covered by 
your town? How do you know they used to live about the location 
of your home ? 

3. Where was the first house in the community^ located ? Of what 
was it built ? 

4. What were some of the reasons that caused a town to spring up 
about the early homes of yoiu" community ? 

5. Draw a map of your town, showing its chief points of interest. 
If you live in a large community, show the location of the principal 
industries, chief streets, your church, school, and home. 

6. Indicate on your map points where you think improvements 
might be made in your community. 

7. Did the early settlers plan for a beautiful town, survey the land 
for regular streets, and in general look out for the future of the com- 
munity? What is there in the community that leads you to your 
belief? 

8. What occupations did the founders of your town pursue ? 

9. Has yoiu" community any natural resources? Did these in- 
fluence the early settlement or the growth of the community ? 

10. Get grandfather or grandmother to tell you any stories they 
may have heard of the early settlers. 

11. If you are a newcomer to America, compare the town where 
you now live with the one from which you came. Which do you pre- 
fer? Why? 

^ ' ' Community ' ' as used in these problems refers to the town or city 
in which you live. 



10 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

12. What are the names of some of the streets in your community? 
Why did they receive these names ? 

13. Do you know of any pictures which show how your community 
looked in its earlier years? Have you ever seen any pictures of the 
early settlers ? If so, describe their appearance and dress. 



CHAPTER II 
THE HOME, THE FAMILY, AND THE COMMUNITY 

Life in the colonial home. — The homes of the boys and 
girls who lived in the cabins of which you have read in the 
previous chapter were much different from any that you find 
to-day. They were made of logs with a stone or " corn 
cob " chimney. There was no floor except the bare earth 
pounded hard, or if the family was a little more fortunate, a 
floor of rough planks split off from logs. Such a home gave 
little chance for many luxuries. It was fortunate if it had 
the necessary comforts. To give shelter from the rough 
storms of winter was all that was necessary. Some of the 
colonial homes scarcely protected their inmates from the 
wild animals which were common in those days. Indeed, 
one colonist tells the story that one night he was awakened 
from sleep by something gnawing at his head. When he 
investigated, he found that an inquisitive wolf was trying to 
reach him as he lay on his rough bed in the corner of the 
cabin, by sticking its nose through the chinks of the logs 
of which the cabin was built. These cabins were cold in 
winter ; so cold, in fact, that a minister tells that the ink 
on his table froze while he was writing his sermon, although 
there was a good fire in the big fireplace. 

Work in the colonial home. — Although the homes were 
very different, the work the children had to do was like that 
of many boys and girls of to-day. As soon as the children 

11 



12 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

were old enough, they helped their fathers and mothers 
with the work of the farm or of the home. The boys, as 
do the farm boys of to-day, helped their fathers plow, plant, 
and reap the crops after they had cleared the land of the 
trees native to it. The girls spun, wove, and made the 
cloth for the garments of the household ; they helped in the 
cooking of the food ; they knit stockings and mittens, and 
assisted the mother in any way that they could. A story 
is told of one girl whose brother lost his mittens while chop- 
ping in the woods. Determined that he should have warm 
hands while he did his work, the young girl carded the wool, 
spun it into yarn, and knit a pair of double mittens, all in 
twenty-four hours. 

There was not much leisure in such homes. When eve- 
ning came, if the children were not too tired, the father or the 
mother spared a few minutes to teach them to '' read, write, 
and cipher," all the education the majority of people had in 
those days. The more fortunate went to school for a few 
weeks in the winter, but education was much neglected. 
Many of the earlier colonists could only '' make their 
mark." As for the girls it was not considered necessary 
that they know how to read or write. 

The great advantage of colonial times. — In spite of the 
hard life and the many discomforts which the people of that 
day had to undergo, there was one advantage; every hoy 
and girl had a home. It may not have been as good a home 
as the modern one but at least each had a place which might 
be called by that name. Every child had a roof to cover his 
head. Every one had some place he could call his own. 
In fact, until homes were founded no colony prospered. 
Virginia was a failure until women were brought to the 
colony in 1619, as wives for the colonists. New France 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY • 13 

failed until King Louis sent over the maids of France to found 
homes in that lonely land. 

To-day, there are thousands who have no home, and 
many homes are of such character that they are a source of 
peril to their occupants and a menace to those whose 
homes are well kept. From such homes children are 
sometimes driven out to shift for themselves on the 
streets. 

The home the beginning of government. — Vastly dif- 
ferent as are the homes of to-day from the colonial homes 
— for there could not be a greater contrast than that be- 
tween the home of the colonial settler and the ten- story 
apartment house of a large city — yet there are some con- 
ditions which were the same then as now, conditions which 
are the same in many respects in the cabin as in the pal- 
ace. Let us see what these similarities are. In all these 
homes, children first come in contact with government. 
The father and the mother are the heads of the family, they 
are the rulers whose laws are to be obeyed. The parents 
are the first source from which the children learn obedience ; 
they are the first to pass judgment on a broken law, and they 
are the ones who see that punishment follows a broken 
command. Here is the beginning of all government, and 
here are the three parts into which all government is divided. 
First, that part of government which tells us what to do by 
making rules or laws, or the legislative department ; second, 
that part of the government which explains the law to us, 
or the judicial department ; and third, that part of the gov- 
ernment which sees that the laws are obeyed and that pun- 
ishment follows the breaking of a law, or the executive de- 
partment. In the home these three parts of government are 
united in the person of the father or the mother. 



14 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

In the well-conducted home of to-day, as well as in colonial 
times, the children look to the parents for protection against 
harm. Though no wild animals are to be fought, nor dangers 
of frontier settlements to be provided against, yet there 
are many dangers in the city streets and on the farm. (See 
Chapter V.) We shall see later that it is the duty of the 
parents to protect the inmates of the home from disease and 
sickness. It is their duty also to protect them from im- 
moral conditions. (See Chapter IV.) The state or local 
authorities are very insistent on these duties. 

Powers of parents. — In the ages long ago, the father of 
an ancient Roman family was so powerful that he might 
even condemn his children to death if they broke the law 
and he considered that so severe a punishment was neces- 
sary. Such a condition of affairs would seem very strange 
to us now, for much of the control of the children has 
been taken from the parent by other forms of government. 
The state to-day fixes the punishment to be given if the 
laws of the community or the state are broken and even 
decides whether a law breaker shall be put to death. The 
colonial boy was kept obedient by the rod. " Spare the 
rod, and spoil the child," was the motto of the colonial 
parent, and also of the colonial schoolmaster. In most 
of the homes the child was made ready to be a law-abiding 
citizen by being brought up to be obedient to the laws of 
the home. 

At the present time it is too often the case that the chil- 
dren do not obey the parent-made laws but become a law 
unto themselves. This is the reason why so many children 
are brought before the police courts, or the children's courts. 
This is the reason why so many children get into trouble. 
Lack of respect for home laws is followed by lack of respect 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 15 

for all laws. In colonial times punishment followed dis- 
obedience. It does not always do so to-day, and children 
feel that because they can escape the punishment of the 
parents, they can escape the punishment which comes when 
other laws are broken. 

Rights of children. — The children in the colonial home 
gave obedience to their parents, and in turn were protected 
by them, were looked after when ill, were punished if neces- 
sary, and were required to do their share of the common 
duties. Work was necessary for each member of the 
family since there were few hands to perform the numerous 
tasks that had to be done. Such conditions prevail in 
many modern homes, but so many changes have taken 
place that home life has been much altered. During the 
earlier period little was thought of the rights of children, 
but a great deal was thought of their duties. 

People who have studied such matters, have learned that 
present conditions make the rights of children the more 
important of the two questions. Children have their rights 
in the home as well as the parents, and the majority of the 
laws that are passed concerning children have to do with 
the protection of these rights. 

Boys and girls have the right to an education, though 
some ignorant parents do not think so and have to be forced 
to send their children to school. Some parents are so old 
fashioned that they think that the education they received 
fifty years ago is good enough for the present. They do not 
realize that the world has progressed during the years that 
have gone by, and that an uneducated person is handicapped 
in the race of life. They do not realize that an ignorant 
person is a dangerous one and is pretty sure to become a 
menace to the community. (See Chapter III.) 



16 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




Dangers of the City Streets 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 



17 




The Series through Courtesy of Safety Institute of America 
Dangers of the City Streets 
A series of pictures showing results of carelessness in using a street. 



18 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Children have the right to wholesome surroundings, the 
right to be brought up under healthful and moral condi- 
tions. In short, children have the same rights as grown 
persons, rights that are given them by the document which 
is the basis of our government, the Constitution of the 
United States. (See Chapter XXV.) Among other things 
this gives to all the right of personal security. 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
A Street of Fine Homes 

Children have the right to play. If cities take away 
from them the right of playing on the street, the right of 
sliding down some hill in the community, it is only fair that 
they should be provided with a park or a playground. 
Many thousands of dollars are spent by municipalities for 
this purpose. The subject of recreation will be considered 
further in a later chapter. (See Chapter VI.) 

When parents do not grant children the rights which are 
theirs, government, either local or state, may step in and 
force the parents to grant them. If this does not secure 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 19 

results, government may go a step further, and remove 
children from the care of such parents and place them where 
they may grow up under proper surroundings. 

The right that parents formerly had over their children 
has been limited by the state. The parent has not the power 
of punishment that he had in former times. This does not 
mean that he may not punish at all if there is need, but that 
he may not be cruel in his punishment. Formerly his power 
was practically unlimited. To-day if a parent inflicts a 
cruel punishment on a child, the law steps in, and the parent 
is severely punished by fine or even imprisonment. For- 
merly, the parents of many children felt that they were en- 
titled to any wages received by their children. Because 
of this, children were put to work at a very early age, and 
were often cruelly treated. The law has put a stop to this 
in most of the states of the nation, though, sad to say, in 
some states children of very tender age are permitted to 
work in factories and mines, and the parents have control 
of all that they earn. (See Chapter XIII.) 

Duties of children — obedience. — As we go farther 
along in this book, we shall find that every right that a 
citizen has is joined to a duty. In this manner the rights of 
children are connected with their duties. One of the most 
important of these duties is that of obedience. This means 
obedience not only to the laws of the home and of the school, 
but also to the laws that government makes — the laws 
passed by the locality, the state, and the nation. Of course 
the first obedience due is that given to parents. The boy 
or girl who is dishonest with a parent is not very apt to 
become a good citizen. We obey parents because they are 
older than we are, and because they know better than we 
do, the things that should be done. In the ancient law given 



20 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

to Moses on the Mount, which we know as the Ten Com- 
mandments, the first commandment with a promise attached 
to it for its fulfillment, is that one which says, '' Honor thy 
father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee." 

Duty of service. — In the home we find not only the 
beginnings of government, but also the beginning of that 
service for others which must be performed by and by, by 
all those who wish to become good citizens. The home 
is a factory in which good citizens are made. As they are 
made here, so they will be when they grow up. In the 
home are begun those relationships with others which 
form the basis of all later actions. Here we learn how to 
protect our loved ones as well as to be protected by them. 
This protection is given not only to parents, for we shall 
see later that we do protect them (see Chapter V), but also 
to the other members of the family with whom we come in 
contact. In many of the large cities where people are closely 
crowded together and there is much poverty, mothers can- 
not give the attention to the smaller ones of the family 
that they would wish to give. Here are found the " little 
mothers " and the "little fathers." These are the children 
who take care of their baby brothers and sisters when the 
mothers and fathers have to work and do not have time 
to care for them themselves. Unfortunately the " little 
mothers " and the " little fathers " are often in need of as 
much help and protection as the babies themselves. To 
look out for them, kindly societies have been formed which 
try to help those whose little ones need care while the parents 
are at work. 

We have seen how the boys and girls of the cabins in the 
woods helped their fathers and mothers by actual hard 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 21 

work in winning a home from the surroundings in which they 
were placed. Although such work is not asked of children 
to-day, there are many ways in which the children may help 
in the home. To-day, in addition to actual labor given in 
the home, help means also to assist the parents in obeying 
the laws of the community in which the home is placed. 
Perhaps you are wondering how you can help father and 
mother obey the law and thus be good citizens? Let us 
look into this. Remember that the parents are the ones who 
are held responsible if children break the laws. If boys and 
girls permit rubbish to collect about the home so that disease 
is spread, if a fire starts because children play with matches 
or build an election bonfire and do not take care of it, the 
parents are the ones who are held responsible for the damage 
that may ensue. If the school attendance law is broken, 
the parents may be taken to court as well as the children. If 
boys play ball in the street and a window is broken, the 
parent has to pay for it. So we see that if children are 
obedient to the laws of the community and do not get into 
trouble, they are performing a real service both to their 
parents and to the community. 

Duty of thoughtfulness. — Another duty is that of 
thoughtfulness for the rights of others. We may be obedient 
and also give service, but if some thought and care are not 
given to the performance of such duties, we are not perform- 
ing these duties in the right way. It is the one who does 
his duty with thought and care who becomes the best citi- 
zen. It must not be forgotten that we are not alone in the 
world. Other people have the same rights that we have. 
If people are selfish and not thoughtful of the rights of 
others, trouble and confusion arise. When boys and girls 
play games in the streets, it is this thoughtlessness that 



22 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

causes trouble; we shall see later how this conflicts with 
others' rights. (See Chapter VI.) 

Duty of industry. — Be industrious. The industrious 
person is one who is busy all the time and therefore has no 
time for interfering with the rights of others. If a boy or 
girl spends the time in school whispering and wasting the 
time, not only is the time which belongs to himself wasted, 
but also that which belongs to those about him whose at- 
tention he attracts. One may be just as good a citizen in 
school as though grown up or having the privilege of voting. 
The home where industry is evident is likely to be a good 
home. It may not have much money, but it has in it that 
which gives strength and character to a community whether 
it be large or small. 

Other marks of good citizenship. — The performance of 
duties which are joined to the rights of citizens and which 
are found in the home first of all is one mark of a good 
citizen. As we proceed in our study of the activities of 
government we shall find that there are many other 
demands on every one who would perform the duties of 
good citizenship. In addition to those named above, we 
may add taking care of one's health, courage without fool- 
hardiness, thrift, courtesy, ability to assume responsibility, 
promptness, honesty, and loyalty. All these are marks of a 
good citizen. 

Laws that govern the home. — The laws that are passed 
for our help and instruction in becoming good citizens, 
and that take care of us in our homes, are not all the safe- 
guards we have. Laws are made to tell us what kinds 
of homes we may live in and even place restrictions on the 
kinds of homes that may be built. 

As cities grew up and densely populated centers developed, 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 



23 



home conditions changed. So packed together did the 
people become that very bad health conditions resulted. 
The foreigners who came to this country were not ac- 
customed to the way people lived here. They began to 
flock together into districts by themselves. Here they 




A Modern Home 



Photo lyy W. A. Gunn 



Make a list of the ways in which government supervises the building of 

such a home. 

could hear their own language spoken, keep their own cus- 
toms, and follow somewhat the same life they had pursued 
in the land from which they came. 

These methods of living, in many cases, were very bad. 
It is proper, under suitable conditions, to have cows and 
pigs and chickens, but it is not proper to have them in the 
house where people live. Because the immigrant had done 
this in his own country, he did it here. Children and animals 



24 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

often lived together in the same room. American citizens 
do not do these things, but it was a long time before such 
customs were stopped. The foreigners who came to the new 
country had never heard of modern sanitary arrangements ; 
until the law put a stop to it, they disregarded the rights of 
others to such an extent that the health of the public was 
in danger. In a book called " The Peril and the Preserva- 
tion of the Plome," is shown the picture of a bathtub hang- 
ing down into a back alley from a window. Because the 
rooms were so small, this was the only place to keep it, and it 
was the only bathtub on the block. Landlords, too, took ad- 
vantage of the ignorance of the immigrant, and asked ex- 
tortionate rents for very poor accommodations. The new- 
comers were poor, and to make both ends meet and to be 
able to pay the rent the landlord asked, boarders were taken 
in. In some tenement bedrooms the beds were never empty, 
those who worked at night giving up the bed to those who 
worked during the day. 

Here are some of the conditions in the homes mentioned 
above. '' Gotham Court " (in New York City) stood 
until recently almost on the identical spot where George 
Washington lived when he was the first President of this 
Republic. When a census of the court was made some 
years before it was demolished, one hundred and forty-two 
families were found living there. '' Out of such conditions 
came little Antonia, stripped by an inhuman step-mother 
and beaten with a red-hot poker until her body was a mass 
of burns and bruises. The step-mother went to jail, but we 
still have need of the Children's Society that has thrown a 
watchful and strong arm around more than one hundred 
thousand little ones in the slum where the home has been 
wrecked." In a typical tenement house on the East Side 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 25 

in New York where the Court above mentioned was located, 
INIr. Riis says " there were two thousand seven hundred 
and eighty-one persons living, four hundred and sixty-six 
of them babies in arms. There were four hundred 
and forty-one dark rooms with no windows at all, and six 
hundred and thirty-five rooms that opened on the air shaft." 

The battle with the slum. — When such conditions as 
these came to the attention of good citizens, is it any wonder 
that then began the ''battle with the slum"? Patriotic 
and philanthropic people began to fight for laws which 
would put an end to such horrible conditions. To-day 
they have met with a great measure of success. No one 
can build a home for rental unless he pays attention to the 
laws which have been passed to make that home comfort- 
able and sanitary and a place fit to live in. Tenements 
that may prove to be fire-traps may no longer be built ; 
proper conditions of light and ventilation must be supplied ; 
there must be proper living conditions. 

Importance of the home. — So important is the home as the 
basis of government that some states have passed laws 
which permit local units of the state to pay a poor widow 
with children a sum of money for the support of those chil- 
dren, that she may not be obliged to send them to an institu- 
tion. The state has at last learned that it is better to keep 
the home together than it is to have it broken up. It has 
begun to understand that the remedy for crime is a clean 
and comfortable home, and that to produce such a result an 
outlay of thought is better than an outlay of money ; laws 
have been passed to take care of the health of the home ; 
institutions have been founded by public-spirited citizens 
and by local authorities to take care of the sick and help- 
less. (See Chapter XL) 



26 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

How government comes into the home. — Early in the 
morning the milkman leaves at your city home your daily 
supply of milk. If you are fortunate enough to have cows of 
your own, you will know that in order to sell the milk it must 
be of a certain quality. If you buy your milk of the milkman, 
he must have it examined to see that it is clean and free 
from harmful germs, and that it has a proper amount of nour- 
ishment in it. Your local government looks after this, send- 
ing out inspectors who, under the orders of the local health 
officers, attend to these duties. (See Chapter IV.) Your 
breakfast eaten and your milk drunk, you go to school. 
If you do not, the truant officer will be after you. This 
is the state government coming to your home. (See 
Chapter III.) On the way to the building where school is 
held you see the postman or the rural free delivery man. 
Through them the national government is entering the home. 
(See Chapter VIII.) Many such examples might be given to 
show that the home is the center toward which all govern- 
ment leads. When the home is destroyed government is 
destroyed. That is the reason why the home is guarded so 
carefully. One of the reasons why war is so greatly dreaded 
is because it breaks up the foundations of government by 
destroying the home. 

A community. — It may be well for us at this place to 
learn what a community is. It has been defined as " a 
group of people living together in a given locality, bound 
to one another by common interests, and subject to 
common laws." With such a definition it at once be- 
comes plain that all of us are members of more than one 
community. 

There are five of these fundamental relationships : the 
home, the school, the church, government, and industry. 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 



27 



Government may refer to town, county, state, or nation. 
Yet, according to our definition, all these relationships are 
those of a community, for the people living in all these 
divisions are bound together by common interests and are 
subject to common laws. 

As we read on we shall see that the government of these 
communities is simply the government of the home trans- 





1I»« J* 






^^ 






What War Does to Homes 

Peronne, France, completely wrecked in the World War. In the distance 
is the citadel, which was used as a prison. 



f erred to a larger field. There are more officials, and the 
government becomes more complicated as it takes in more 
activities, but we shall find that the three essential parts 
of government, the executive, legislative, and judicial de- 
partments, are still to be found, no matter what community 
we study. We shall also find that laws are made for the 
same purpose as in the home, for the help of the individual. 



28 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Membership in any or all of these communities has a 
meaning. First, in the community we satisfy our desires 
and purposes through cooperation. That community is 
most successful whose members cooperate most closely. 
Second, membership in the community places an obligation 
upon us to contribute to common ends. If all do not obey 
the laws set for their guidance, health may be endangered and 
disease spread. If some contribute nothing to industry, 
the community suffers. Membership in a community lays 
a heavy responsibility upon us. The manner in which we 
shoulder these responsibilities indicates the character of our 
citizenship. 

In the home first, then in the school, which is planned to 
cultivate intelligence and character ; in the church, which 
trains the religious and moral life ; in government, which 
conserves the common rights and obligations of every citizen ; 
in the vocation, which gives to every one a chance not only 
to earn a living but to contribute useful service ; and in 
various helpful societies, like the Boy Scouts and the Girl 
Scouts, are found opportunities for growth and service which 
mark the useful citizen and the man or woman of high moral 
standard. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. Are there any so-called tenement districts in your community? 
What can be done to remedy defects in them ? 

2. Do the majority of the people about you own their own homes? 
Compare the sections where the people own their own homes and those 
where they do not, and draw some conclusions. Do you think a person 
should own his own home rather than rent one ? Why ? 

3. What are some of the ways in which you can help to make your 
home pleasant ? 

4. In what ways do good homes promote good citizenship ? 

5. What advantages do you enjoy from having a good home, which 
those who do not have one cannot enjoy ? 



HOME, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 29 

6. Why should we try to beautify our homes, both inside and out- 
side? 

7. What defects can you see in the homes of your community, and 
how can these be remedied ? 

8. Does your community, through its local government or through 
local societies, offer prizes for the beautifying of the homes of the com- 
munity ? 

9. Observe whether your family depends upon itself for its needs, or 
whether it depends on other homes. 

10. Why is the statement, " He is a good neighbor," a good recom- 
mendation for anyone? 

11. If you could build just such a home as you would wish, what are 
some of the things you would plan for ? 

12. What are some of the laws passed by your local or state govern- 
ments for the protection and help of your home ? 

13. Give examples, other than those mentioned in the text, of the 
ways in which government officials, local, state, and national, come to 
your home. 

14. Give examples of what the war with Germany did to destroy 
homes. 

15. List five things a citizen should avoid in building a house. 

16. Make a list of ten points to be considered in deciding whether 
a house is a desirable or an undesirable one for tenancy. 



CHAPTER III 

EDUCATION 

As we have learned in a previous chapter (see Chapter II) 
the children of colonial times did not have much chance 
to get an education. A little of the three " r's," " reading, 
'riting, and 'rithmetic," and sometimes some of the three 
" s's," *' speaking, spelling, and spanking," comprised the 
education of the majority of colonial children. As the settle- 
ment grew and more children came into the neighborhood, 
the first place that was built for common use was the school, 
and often the same building was used for a church. 

Government and early schools. — Government early 
took a hand in helping education, for only twelve years 
after the founding of Massachusetts the lawmaking body 
of the colony passed a law which provided that the children 
of each town should be taught the principles of religion 
and the laws of the country (the first lessons in govern- 
ment), and the officials must be sure that the children were 
put to some useful work. All this might be done in the 
home. Some five years later the same legislature passed a 
law providing that schools should be established in every 
township of fifty householders. The reason given for such 
a law was that '^ it being one chief project of that old de- 
luder Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the scrip- 
tures," children should receive some education, so that the 
"old deluder " might be beaten, and "learning might 

30 



EDUCATION 31 

not be buried in the grave of our fathers in the church and 
commonwealth." If parents did not heed this law, they 
were brought before the magistrates and reproved for neg- 
lecting their duty. This was the first compulsory educa- 
tion law. 

Support of early schools. — The schools which were 
founded in these early days were supported in various ways. 
Sometimes part of the money was given by the well-to-do 
of the community ; part of the support came from land set 
aside for the purpose; part came from the money paid for 
the teaching of subjects in the schools ; and part from the 
taxes paid by the community. Usually all these means 
were necessary to raise an amount sufficient to pay the ex- 
penses of the school. Here are some of the fees paid — 
four pence for " such as are in the primer and other Eng- 
lish books, and six pence a week to learn accidence (Latin 
Grammar), wrighting and casting accounts." 

Early teachers. — Such schools were sometimes taught 
by men whom we should call ill-trained and ignorant. The 
schoolmaster usually had some other business by which he 
helped to make his living. George Washington's school- 
master was a white bond slave who acted as sexton of the 
church and now and then dug a grave. His next teacher 
was an ignorant man, and young Washington " failed to 
acquire either correct spelling or the commonest rules of 
English grammar." 

Here is a picture of an old-time schoolmaster. He wore a 
three-cornered hat. " His coat descended in long square 
skirts quite to the calves of his legs. He had on nankeen 
small clothes [knee breeches], white silk stockings, paste 
knee and shoe buckles. His waistcoat [vest] was of yellow 
embossed silk. The sleeves and skirts of his coat were 



32 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

garnished with rows of silver buttons. He wore ruffled 
cuffs. Under his hat appeared a gray wig falHng in rolls 
over his shoulders. He had on a pair of tortoise-shell 
glasses. A golden headed cane was thrust under his arm." 
How does this schoolmaster compare with your teacher or 
your principal ? 

If a community could not afford a schoolmaster, there 
was usually some poor woman who could teach the chil- 
dren their letters, and perhaps their ^' manners." A school 
so taught was called a '' dame " school. Children were 
taught to make their " manners " to their teachers, their 
parents, and others to whom they should show respect. 
This consisted of a respectful bow by the boys and the 
dropping of a courtesy by the girls. 

An early school. — If you could go to one of these early 
schools you would find it very different from the one you at- 
tend. The school houses were built of logs. Sometimes 
they had a floor of rough boards, but more often there was 
'' just the bare earth which the children's feet soon rendered 
very dusty. On occasion the youngsters' feet would stir 
up the dust in clouds to annoy the teacher, and amuse their 
fellows." The desks were made of rough boards fastened 
to the wall about three feet from the ground. Rude benches 
served as seats. The pupils sat with their faces to the wall, 
the little ones near the teacher. When recitation time 
came, they marched up in front of the teacher. If the floor 
was of boards, they " toed a crack " that the line might be 
straight, and recited their lessons. In many cases the win- 
dows were made of oiled paper, for glass was too expensive 
or too difficult to get. There were no blackboards, no 
pencils, and very little paper. The lucky boy had a " plum- 
met " made of lead, sometimes fashioned into a little toma- 



EDUCATION 33 

hawk, and with this marks could be made. The usual writ- 
ing material was a quill pen and ink. The earlier schools 
were heated by a fireplace. The wood was green and smoked 
badly, for the poorest was given to the school. Some- 
times the fire went out entirely, and school was then dis- 
missed for the day, as the room became so cold that it was 
impossible to keep warm until another fire could be built. 
Textbooks were few and were carefully kept, that they 
might be handed down from one generation to another. 

Discipline in an early school. — Discipline was severe. 
If the master could not " lick " the big boys who came to 
school during, the winter term, he could not hold his posi- 
tion, since the boys might pick him up and throw him out 
of the window into a snow bank. Whippings were fre- 
quent. In one of the schools in Massachusetts a whipping- 
post was placed in the middle of the schoolroom floor, and 
tied to this, the pupils were soundly flogged. Even boys 
in college were publicly whipped. Boys and girls who 
whispered had short sticks like the bit of a horse's bridle 
placed in their mouths and tied by strings to the back of 
the head. This very effectually stopped the practice. 
Parents did not feel that their children were getting the 
proper amount of education if the master did not inter- 
sperse their lessons with a large number of whippings. 

Advanced schools. — As time went on, more advanced 
schools or " academies " were founded, where boys could 
learn Latin and Greek. It was not thought necessary that 
girls should be able to do more than read. Only about one 
in twelve of the women during the time of our Revolutionary 
war could sign their names. The academy was a school to 
which the wealthier parents sent their boys that they might 
get enough education to enter college. The earlier colleges 



34 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

prepared their students for the ministry, though they did 
not give as much real education as the high schools of to- 
day. 

Progress of schools. — As the country grew and new com- 
munities sprang up, the conditions which prevailed in the 
early schools spread with the advance of the settlements. 
At the time Lincoln went to school the conditions which 
were common in the colonies were common in Illinois. Lin- 
coln had very little actual schooling, and the story of his 
study by the light of the fireplace, and how he used the 
clean side of a shingle to figure on, is known to every boy 
and girl. Not until very recent years have the rough condi- 
tions about which you have read been entirely done away 
with. In the older settlements, as civilization advanced 
and people became more prosperous and desirous of learn- 
ing, the schools have improved until we have the beautiful 
buildings and the splendid school systems of to-day. 

Under these new conditions, it became very evident 
that the old schoolmaster and the dame schools, with their 
pitiful lack of instruction (see page 31), had outlived their 
usefulness. More and more the citizens of the country be- 
gan to feel that an ignorant citizen was a dangerous one. 
They began to understand that it was not only the aristo- 
cratic and well-born people of the country who should have 
an education, but also those who were the toilers. The 
workman who is educated makes a better workman; the 
farmer who knows something of the chemistry of soil is a 
better farmer ; the housewife who understands the food 
value of what she cooks makes a better cook. 

The old system which made it possible for every dis- 
trict to have the sort of school that it chose, brought it about 
that some had good schools, while others had very poor 



EDUCATION 



35 



ones. In some sections the children were becoming edu- 
cated and advancing rapidly in the race toward the goal of 
good citizenship. In others where the schools were poor, 
crime and drunkenness and ignorance were strongly in evi- 
dence. Because of such conditions, the state, little by little, 
began to make laws for all the schools within its boundaries, 
but did not interfere with the enforcement of the law within 
the boundaries of the local unit, except to see that the state 
laws were obeyed. Step by step this movement has gone 
on until to-day the state stands back of all of its schools. 
It helps the weak ones, commends the good ones, and always 
strives for the advancement of both. 

The school unit. — There is in every state a division 
called a school district, or that which corresponds to it; 
it may be a county as 
in Maryland, or a town 
as in New England, or 
a part of the township 
as in the north-central 
states. Such a division 
has its own school or 
schools, elects its own 
officials, who hire the 
teachers and carry on 
the affairs of the dis- 
trict. The power given 
to these officials is very 
extensive. They are as- 
sisted in their work by a state board of education or a 
commissioner of education, or both. In most of the states 
financial assistance is given to the unit by the state and some- 
times by the national government, in addition to the money 




A Rural School 

A good education may be gained even 
in such a school as this. Compare this 
school with the one on page 37. 



36 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

raised by the local unit. This is sometimes in proportion to 
the number of teachers employed in the school, and some- 
times in proportion to the number of children in the school. 
It may be granted on account of the course of study 
pursued. 

Education is practically free from other units of govern- 
ment, since nearly all restrictions are removed from the 
people when they consider the education of their children. 
In some states it is necessary to be a citizen to share in the 
government of the town or of the state ; it is not necessary 
to be a citizen to share in the government of the district. 
At the annual school meeting called to consider the welfare 
of the children who attend school, all those who reside in 
the district and have children in school, or some property 
qualification, or some residence requirement, may vote 
money for the school, may help elect officials of the district, 
or do whatever is considered necessary for the welfare of the 
children in the school. Though the state may make laws for 
the administration of the schools, for the most part these 
laws are carried out by the officials of the local unit. 

Combined districts. — A distinct advance has been made 
in some of the states by combining the resources of several 
near-by districts and putting the educational affairs of the 
combined districts under one head. California and New 
York are two of the states which have done this. One cen- 
tral school is established for the combined districts, and a 
motor truck or other conveyance is provided to carry the 
children to and from school. Such a union of districts 
gives the children a better chance for an education, as better 
teachers can be hired and more advanced subjects may be 
studied. It sometimes makes it possible for the children to 
go to their homes for a warm lunch and then be taken back 



EDUCATION 



37 



to school. At the close of school the children are taken to 
then- homes. In addition to all these advantages, the cen- 
tral school is found to be cheaper to maintain than one in 
each district. 

Varieties of schools. — In the various units we find a 
great variety of schools. It may be the district school 
mentioned before ; if it is a town or village it has a high 




Courtesy of Hon. C. L. Canier 



High School in a Small Community, Surrounded by a 
Beautiful Park 

school ; or if it is a larger town or city, it has a complete sys- 
tem of schools from the kindergarten through the high 
school. 

The earliest school of all is the kindergarten, where the 
youngest children begin their education. Here play is 
turned into something that will lay the foundation for 
future study. Beyond the kindergarten are the grades, 
usually eight in number. You who read this book have 
probably passed through most of these grades and perhaps 



38 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



have already reached the high school or the vocational 
school. 

Beyond the elementary schools are those which give a 
chance for further education. Work in the high school 
prepares those who wish to enter college, and also gives 
those who do not wish to go to college a broader education 
than that which the grades supply. Many of those who go 




CuuTleay of Gtneseo, N. Y., State Normal School 
State School for the Training op Teachers 

Such a school as this trains the teachers who teach the children in the 

elementary schools. 

to college are preparing themselves for some profession, for 
example, that of a lawyer. For such persons there are 
the professional schools, schools for the special study of one 
profession, medical colleges, theological seminaries, law 
schools, and the like. Beyond these are the graduate schools 
of which Johns Hopkins University is a splendid example. 
There is such a bewildering array of opportunities that it is 



EDUCATION 39 

hard to know which of the professions to follow and which 
of the many schools to attend. 

For the boys and girls who do not wish to go to college 
and yet wish to have more education than the high school 
can give, there is the vocational school. This is one of the 
schools that has originated in recent times. Here the boys 
are taught the beginnings of various trades, woodworking, 
electrical work, the principles of agriculture and machine 
shop work. All these subjects are studied in connection 
with some of the subjects which the ordinary high school 
teaches. Girls are taught sewing, cooking, and other sub- 
jects necessary to make good home makers. Boys and girls 
are also taught that one cannot be a good artisan or a good 
home maker without as broad an education as possible, and 
are urged to carry on their education as far as they can. 

Corporation schools. — So great is the value of an educa- 
tion, and so much have the great business concerns of the 
country come to realize that an ignorant person does not 
return value to the company for the salary paid, that many 
have established schools for the benefit of their workmen. 
In spite of the fact that there are so many means for secur- 
ing an education, many children have left school without 
more than a beginning of the training necessary for success 
in life. Many foreigners who have come to this country and 
gone to work for the corporations have been found to be 
very ignorant. Even if they are intelligent, they do not 
know English well, so that the work they do is not of the 
best. To help these who are only partly educated, and the 
illiterate foreigners, many corporations have established these 
" corporation schools " where their employees may be edu- 
cated, not only along the line of the business of the corpora- 
tion, but also in the subjects usually taught in the school- 



40 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

room. Large corporations employing women have estab- 
lished schools for them. Here an opportunity is given to 
learn advanced work and therefore obtain better positions. 
Those who are doing work not to their liking are able to 
learn work that they like better. 

Evening schools. — One of the greatest helps to the 
people in getting an education is the evening school. To 
such schools come those who for some reason or other have 
not received all the education that they feel is necessary for 
their best welfare, who have not received enough educa- 
tion to make them fitted to hold good positions and to 
make them efficient and thereby better able to support 
themselves and their families. Many come to learn to read 
and write better, some come to learn to do better work in 
mathematics, others come to take advantage of the op- 
portunity to learn something of forging, wood-working, or 
electrical engineering. Women and girls come to learn to 
sew and cook, or whatever the schools offer to make them 
better housewives. To the evening schools go the children 
who have to work during the day, but who by the com- 
pulsory education laws are forced to get more education. 

One of the most important kinds of work the evening 
schools perform is that which they do for the immigrants. 
(See Chapter IX.) Here they are taught to read and write 
English, and in many of the schools they are taught the 
history and government of the United States. Through 
such courses the foreigner may readily become a citizen of 
his adopted country when the proper time comes. 

In some of the counties in the southern states are famous 
schools known as " moonlight schools." Such a school is 
something like an evening school. A teacher felt sorry for 
the ignorance that she saw about her and conceived the 



EDUCATION 



41 




42 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

plan of opening her school in the evening, that those who 
worked on the farms about her might have a chance. So 
anxious were the people to learn that in a short time other 
teachers had to be hired to help. One of the pupils was a 
man over eighty years of age. He had never had a chance 
to be taught, and even at that age took advantage of the 
opportunity when it came. 

Private schools. — In addition to the schools supported 
by the state and by the people of the community, there are 
those known as private schools. Many of these were founded 
when education was not free to all in the public school system. 
They may be attended by the payment of a fee, the amount 
of which varies in different schools. Some give courses in 
advance of the high school, yet not as full as a college course ; 
others offer a college preparatory course ; some offer courses 
for backward children, or other special types of individual 
instruction. 

Why go to college ? — At the present time and for many 
years to come there is going to be a great need for highly 
educated men and women. The Great War killed or dis- 
abled thousands of the best educated people in the world. 
Their places must be filled. Because of this boys and girls 
should take advantage of every opportunity offered to get 
all the education that it is possible to obtain. The coming 
generations will be greatly handicapped if this is not done. 
Not only should the time spent in elementary school and in 
high school be used to the best advantage, but every one who 
can should think about going to college. There is no reason 
why any one should be deprived of this privilege. Ways 
and means are at the disposal of every boy and girl who will 
make use of his opportunities. 

Just as a carpenter who has the best tools can do the best 



EDUCATION 43 

work, or the mechanic who has the best knowledge of his 
machine can turn out the best w^ork, so the boy or the girl 
who has the best education will be able to be of the greatest 
service to his country and to his community. Other things 
being equal the best doctor is the one who has studied most, 
the best lawyer is the one who has the broadest and most 
thorough education. There are many ways for a person to 
work his way through college, and teachers will be glad to 
direct any one who wishes to get a college education. 

School rights and duties. — In a previous chapter (see 
Chapter II) we learned that there are certain duties that go 
with the rights which may be demanded in the home. The 
school is a second home, and here the duties of service, obe- 
dience, thoughtfulness, and industry are as important as in 
the home. We have a right to an education, but with this 
right go certain duties. Obedience is the first law of the 
school as it is of the home. Teachers are to be obeyed for 
the same reasons as are the parents. They stand in the 
place of the parents, and so should be obeyed. Just as the 
parents are the first lawmakers that we know, so we shall 
find that there are lawmakers for the school. For example, 
in many states there is a regulation concerning attendance. 
Children must attend school for a certain number of days 
and until they are a certain age. The local authorities set 
the hours when school shall be in session. The principal 
or the school superintendent or the teachers make the regu- 
lations which govern our actions in the schoolroom. It 
may seem that these rules are very harsh and sometimes 
foolish. If, however, the pupil considers that he is not alone 
in the school and that the rights of others must be con- 
sidered, it will be easily understood why rules have to be 
made. 



44 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Service for others is as important in the school as In the 
home. We are preparing ourselves, first of all, during our 
school days for our future life as grown-up citizens. It is 
by our relations with others that we stand or fall. If we 
neglect our opportunities and leave school without taking 
advantage of what the school offers to us, then we shall not 
understand the best way of rendering service to others. 
Actual service for others means protecting the younger and 
weaker members of the school from harm, obeying the rules 
set for our guidance and for the government of the school, 
learning and performing the " manners " of the old-fash- 
ioned '' dame " school. Thoughtfulness in performing 
school duties will bring greater results in the school as it 
does in the home. 

Cooperation between pupil and community. — If com- 
munities expend such large sums as they do for the educa- 
tion of the children then those for whom the beautiful 
school buildings are erected and equipped should cooperate 
with the school authorities. When a community erects a 
beautiful building, decorates it with pictures and statuary, 
equips it with apparatus, those who use it should take the 
best of care of it. That is the business of the children in the 
schools. It is the right of " all the children of all the people '* 
to demand an education, but on the other hand it is the right 
of the community that erects the building where education 
may be obtained, to demand that children should take care 
of it and its contents. 

Not only should care be taken of the means provided 
for an education, but they should be used intelligently 
and industriously. This is stating in a different way what 
has already been said in this chapter, that children should 
do their part as good citizens by attending school regularly, 



EDUCATION 



45 



and when they are there, should study hard and be obe- 
dient to the rules of the school. 

Other means of education. — Some of our best educated 
men have never been graduated from an elementary school, 
not to mention a high school or a college. So many are the 
opportunities for an education to-day outside of school that 




Courtesy of Rvlherford Hayner 
A Modern School Building 

What important feature does it lack ? 

this is a possibility. There is no need for any one in our 
country to remain ignorant. First of all these means out- 
side the schools are the daily newspapers and the magazines. 
No one should fail to read the daily paper. No one 
can be well informed about the world's doings who does 
not do this. Next, there are the libraries in almost every 
town in the land, places where the best thought of the world 



46 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



is at the disposal of any one who will use it. The libraries 
are aided by the great museums and art galleries to be 
found in most of the larger cities, free to all to go and 
learn. Who can help being inspired when he looks at a 
great picture or some wonderful relic restored to us from the 
past? Literary societies are found in almost every com- 




Courtesy of Rxitherford Hayner 
The Library of a Small Community 



munity, reading circles and debating societies are formed 
in almost every town. Some or all of these varied activities 
are at the command of every one, and give no one an excuse 
for being ignorant of all that is best in education. 

Reasons for an education. — It may be well for us here to 
sum up the reasons why we should have an education. 

First of all, an education should make it possible for a per- 
son to earn a better living. The educated person is the one 
who succeeds in life. 



EDUCATION 47 

Second, the educated person is the one who gets the great- 
est enjoyment from Hfe. Since the end of education is 
"to be as useful as possible, and to be happy," the more 
means to this end that one has, the greater are the chances 
for enjoyment. 

Third, an education should make one a better citizen, 
from the fact that educated men are better able to under- 
stand how affairs of government should be conducted, and 
to take a share in government affairs by holding office or by 
voting. 

Choosing a vocation. — All the education a person may 
receive will be of little value unless it is rightly used. For 
this reason the choice of one's business in life should receive 
careful consideration. Upon this choice depends future 
usefulness and happiness. 

There are certain considerations which should guide you 
in the choice of a vocation. First should be the usefulness 
of the vocation. Will the work chosen help others, make 
you a more useful citizen, and help you to be of use in your 
community? Second, is the vocation a permanent one or 
is it one of the " seasonable " trades in which there is work 
only part of the time? Many of those who rushed into 
positions with large wages during the World War, found 
themselves without anything to do during the reconstruction 
period after the war was over. Third, the healthfulness of 
the vocation should be considered. Will your health be 
good in an indoor vocation? If you are not strong, should 
not an out-door vocation be chosen? Fourth, is the work 
chosen a '' blind alley job " ? Will you have a chance to 
grow and progress in your chosen work? The remuneration 
for such a " job " may seem large when it is entered upon, 
but if it is to remain at the same figure during all the coming 



48 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

years, something else should be chosen. Fifth, the vocation 
chosen should give a chance for happiness and leisure. Some 
one has said, " A person should work hard, but not be worked 
to death." We shall see later (Chapter VI) that every one 
should have some time for recreation. If your chosen 
vocation does not give some time for play, choose another. 
The sixth consideration is the one most often considered first, 
that is, remuneration. The amount of wages a person re- 
ceives should be sufficient to support his family and provide 
a surplus for the future. 

Through the exercise of a vocation, something of value 
to the community should be produced. The worker should 
be loyal to his employer and the employer should be fair to 
the employee. What is earned should be earned honestly, 
" an honest day's work for a fair day's pay." Remember 
that it is not what one earns that counts, but what is saved. 
Advance in your work. Do not be content to sit still. The 
right choice of a vocation tends to reduce unemployment and 
pauperism and to make contented and law-abiding citizens. 

Americanization. — In spite of all the opportunities 
for an education to-day, there are many who have as yet 
no part in it. Ten per cent of our grown-up population 
cannot read the laws they are supposed to know. Out of 
the first two million of the drafted soldiers who were called 
to fight in the war against Germany, two hundred thousand 
could not read the orders given them, nor understand them 
when spoken. This great number of uneducated people 
includes not only those who come to us of foreign birth, 
but also many native born adults who have had no chance, 
and very many of the colored people. 

The Honorable Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the In- 
terior (see Chapter XXI) in President Wilson's cabinet, has 



EDUCATION 49 

said, " I believe that more and more thought will be given to 
our school system as the most serviceable means we possess for 
the development of better America. Are you fitted for the 
fight? The man who knows how knowledge can be con- 
verted into power is the man for whom there is unlimited 
call. Each man's rights are to be measured, not by what he 
has, but by what he does with it. To be useful is the essence 
of Americanism, and against the undeveloped resources 
[this great army of uneducated] the spirit of the country 
makes protest." 

To develop this great resource of man power in our coun- 
try, local, state, and national governments are putting forth 
the strongest efforts to see that those who have had no chance 
shall receive what is due them. The uneducated person is a 
drag and a menace to his community ; the educated citizen 
is one who helps it to go ahead. 

Questions for Investigation 

1 . How many schools are there in your town (city, county) ? 

2. Who is your superintendent of schools? How is he (or she) 
chosen ? 

3. What is the title of your local educational body? How is it 
chosen ? 

4. What does the state do for your education? Is there a state 
board of education ? If so, how is it chosen ? What are its duties and 
powers ? 

5. How do you plan to use what you are learning in school ? 

6. Try to find some of the textbooks in EngHsh and History that 
your parents or your grandparents studied. Compare them with 
yours. 

7. Does your state have a compulsory education law? What are 
its provisions ? 

8. In recent years has your state passed any laws that affect your 
getting an education ? 

9. What does yoiu- state or your local school do to teach you a voca- 
tion ? Has it a vocational school ? What is taught in such schools ? 



50 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

10. What is a continuation school? Does your state provide for 
such a school? Do you think it would be an advantage to a com- 
munity ? 

11. What is your state doing to educate those from foreign countries 
who have settled here ? 

12. After you finish the high school, where do you intend to com- 
plete your education ? Do you want to go to college ? Why ? 

13. Do you think that a person with a college education has a better 
chance of getting on in the world than one who has not ? Why ? 

14. Does your state give any help to the pupils who wish to go to 
college ? Make a report to your class of all you can find out about this 
matter. 

15. Are there any societies of college graduates, or other societies in 
your locality or state, which give assistance to boys and girls who wish 
to go to college ? What assistance are they willing to give ? 

16. Make a list of the means for getting an education in your local 
community outside of the schools, 

17. Write a composition on one of the following subjects : My 
School, Why I Should Go to College, Choosing a Profession. 

18. Ask the Children's Bureau of the Federal Department of Labor 
to send you any publications it may have on the subject of children 
going to work before they have finished school. 

19. Is there a State University in your state? If so, where is it 
located? In what respect does it differ from the other higher educa- 
tional institutions in the state? 



CHAPTER IV 

GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 

Early disregard of health problems. — When the country 
was new the work of the majority of the people was in the 
open air, the towns were small, and each person could look 
after his own health. There was no need for laws to be 
passed to make people have regard for the rights of others 
or to keep them from endangering the health of other people. 
But as the towns grew larger, the houses were built more 
closely together and the streets were used by so many more 
people, that there arose a need for some sort of laws to pro- 
tect the public health. Streets became dirty and bred dis- 
ease. Indeed, in Philadelphia as late as the latter part of the 
eighteenth century there were such violent outbreaks of 
yellow fever that thousands of the inhabitants died. The 
refuse and sewage of the homes were thrown into the streets. 
In the early history of the cities of Europe we find that 
periodic outbreaks of the Black Plague, which we know to- 
day as the bubonic plague, swept through the different coun- 
tries. In England, during such a period half the people 
died. So great was the destructive power of the disease, 
that a fire which burned one half the city of London was 
welcomed because it stopped the plague. Epidemics of all 
sorts were many and widespread, sparing neither the rich 
nor the poor. Even George Washington did not escape, 
as his face bore to the time of his death the scars of the 
ravages of smallpox, 

51 



52 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Modern ideas. — As communities grew, people learned 
that health was a matter which concerned the community 
as a whole. There were so many people who could not or 
would not protect themselves, that there was need of laws 
to protect those who were careful of their health against 
those who were not careful and who disregarded the rights 
of others. Nevertheless this knowledge of how to get the 
best health conditions is of comparatively recent origin. 
Only in recent times have people awakened to the fact that 
pure air, sunshine, exercise, and good food have more to do 
with keeping a person in good health than all the drugs that 
can be taken. A very famous doctor has said, " Out of one 
hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty diseases there 
are only seven or eight that can be cured by drugs." No 
matter how many laws a municipality may pass, no matter 
how strict it may be in the enforcement of the laws, no one can 
keep in good health unless he does his share by taking care of 
himself as he properly should. 

Care of the streets. — Because of the fact that every one 
does not take the proper care of his health and provide him- 
self with healthful surroundings, the different units of gov- 
ernment, local, state, and national, have passed laws to 
protect the people of the nation, and to make those who are 
careless of the health of others, do what is right. Because the 
laws of the town or city in which we live come closest to us 
and because we can see how these laws work, let us con- 
sider first some of those laws which our own municipality 
makes to protect our health. 

First of all it keeps the streets clean. This makes it 
possible to breathe pure air, and to keep our bodies clean, 
two prime necessities for good health. The cleaner the 
community the more healthful it is, for there is nothing to 



GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 53 

attract flies, rats, and other vermin which spread disease. 
The principal cause of the epidemics referred to in an earher 
paragraph was the dirty streets. 

The most serious problem of the larger municipalities is 
that of street cleaning. There is so much refuse to be dis- 
posed of that until recent years the task has been a dis- 
couraging one. To-day in each city of any size, there is a 
regularly organized force of men, to each of whom is as- 
signed a certain part of the street to keep clean. To aid 
them are certain machines, mechanical street flushers that 
wash the streets, and sweepers that brush up the dirt. The 
latest and most modern method is a vacuum cleaner that 
takes up the dirt and carries it away. The dirt streets 
are oiled or salted; this keeps the surface dustless, so no 
dirt can be blown about. 

The problem presented when there is a heavy fall of snow 
is a difficult one. In New York City a small army of men is 
employed to take care of the snow. Machines that melt 
it have been used, though they are not very successful. 
Aside from the work the community does in snow removal 
from the streets, most towns and cities have ordinances 
which force the citizens to clear away the snow and ice from 
the walks in front of their residences and places of business. 
Such an ordinance should not be necessar^^ It should not 
be necessary for the community to force the citizens to keep 
their sidewalks clean, but some people are so lazy or so care- 
less of the rights of others that walks are not cleaned and 
accidents occur. Then the city government is held re- 
sponsible and may be sued for damages because of the acci- 
dents. 

Removal of waste. — After the streets are cleaned, the 
next problem the community has to solve is the removal of 



54 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



the waste material. The material collected by the street 
sweepers, the garbage, the ashes, dead animals, and what- 
ever would be a menace to the health and well-being of the 
community, must be taken care of, and in such a manner 
that it may harm no one. Some municipalities throw all 
this away, but the more recent method is to dispose of it in 




A River in Flood 



Courtesy of Rutnerford Hayner 



The picture shows a flood in the Hudson River. Great care must be 
taken when the flood subsides to clean up thoroughly, or the debris it brings 
would be a menace to health. 



such a manner that it will bring a revenue to the city or 
town. The ashes are separated from the refuse and used for 
filling in near-by lowlands. Whatever garbage is valuable 
as fertilizer is disposed of for this purpose. Some of the 
refuse is sold as old rags and paper for the manufacture of 
other paper, and some is disposed of to the soap makers. 
Some communities have an incinerator in which all the refuse 
is burned. The old method of dumping all the waste in 



GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 55 

some place outside the limits of the community, there to 
become a menace to the health of others, a breeding place for 
rats, the carriers of disease, has been given up. 

Other means of health protection. — Besides the cleaning 
of the streets and the removal of waste it is necessary for the 
local authorities to keep the air of the city clean and pure 
by forcing slaughter houses, soap factories, and places which 
make foul odors and poison the air, to carry on their work 
outside the city limits. Factories which belch forth clouds 
of black nasty smoke are forced to use smoke and gas con- 
sumers, which free the air from the impurities they cause. 
Many communities compel owners of vacant lots to keep 
them cleared up, that they may not become a lurking place for 
mosquitoes and other disease carrying insects. Sometimes 
disease breeding ponds and slow running streams are drained 
or filled in, and the dumping of rubbish near them is forbid- 
den. In many municipalities the local authorities set aside a 
week of the early spring as " Clean up " week. A concerted 
effort is made during that time to clean out the accumula- 
tion of dirt and rubbish, which is then taken care of by the 
authorities. One day of the week is usually set aside for the 
children of the schools to clean up about their homes. 

The duty of all. — It is evident from what has been said 
above that every one must do his share in keeping the streets 
clean. If on the way from school one throws a pocket full of 
papers in the street, it should be remembered that some one 
will have to clean them up or else the street will be dirty. 
If each one were careful not to throw rubbish in the street, 
there would be much less for the street cleaner to do. 

Along this same line is another matter in which author- 
ities are often very lax. In many communities, displayed 
conspicuously, are signs which read, " Please Do Not Spit 



56 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




03 

o 



03 



o 
o 

.C3 






GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 



57 



DON'T Spit! 



on the Side-Walk. By Order of the Board of Health." 
Since it has been discovered that diseases are spread in this 
manner, such warnings ought to be heeded. Not only is 
spitting a filthy act, but 
so many diseases may be 
passed on to others by 
this means, that it is one 
of the chief ways of com- 
municating disease. The 
great trouble is that so 
good a law is not strictly 
enforced. This makes it 
worse than if there were 
no such law ; it tends to 
make us disregard all 
laws, when we know that 
a law is not strictly en- 
forced. 

Quarantine laws. 
Local quarantines. — So 
great is the danger from 
the spread of certain dis- 
eases, that all forms of 
government, local, state, 
and national, have passed 
laws concerning them. 

Such laws are known as quarantine laws. These regulations 
are all of the same general meaning, for they stop the 
approach of all persons to the infected person or district. 
Locally, as soon as the doctor in charge finds a case of 
scarlet fever, diphtheria, or other communicable disease, he 
reports the matter to the local health authorities. This 



You are violatint; 

the lav.- a^'ainst 
^ S P r TTI X G 

You are subject to 
in"i[)ris<)i)nienl or -, 
luie, or })<)t}i. ^ 

P,y ur.icr ot t ht- 
BOAR!) OF HEALTH, 

When you mu>t -u\\. luok for:t s<".vcr open- 

iuK or a giUi.er, or : jiit into vnur 

handl. crrhiei. 

Spit m.'.y !-.r> full of !hc ^'L-rnis of tuherculo- 

>!>, i'licumonia and other (li:-:<;ascA. 

DON'T Spit! 



This leaflet.is published by the 

Department of Health, City of New York 

and di.-tril.»uted by the 

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and the 
Tuberculosis Committee, Brooklyn Bureau of Qtarllies 



Form No. Mlscell. 14. 598I-125M-'l.'i-(L.& I.) 



Courtesy of Health Institute 
A Poster of a Department of Health 



58 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

authority causes a notice to be placed on the house of the 
sick person forbidding any one to enter or leave the house 
until the notice is officially removed. A severe penalty is im- 
posed on any one who breaks this law. In some places where 
disease is very widespread and deadly, the inhabitants have 
been known to establish a '' shot-gun " quarantine. This 
means that armed men patrol the district and send back all 
who come from the infected region, so that they may not 
spread the disease by going to other towns. 

State quarantine. — The state does practically the same 
thing as the local authorities. The quarantine which it> 
may establish may include animals as well as people. Not 
long ago a virulent disease broke out among the cattle of 
New York State. So strict a quarantine was established 
about the infected district that not only were people forbidden 
to go near the place, but a guard was established to keep 
hens, dogs, and cats away from the barns where the cattle 
were. The animals themselves were destroyed and buried 
in quicklime. The state also has the power to destroy 
herds of cattle which may be infected with tuberculosis. 
The milk sold from a herd of tuberculosis cattle will infect 
human beings. When such a herd is destroyed proper com- 
pensation is made to the owner by the state. 
. National quarantine. — The United States government 
maintains a quarantine station at the approach to each harbor 
in the country to which ships from foreign countries may 
come. At this spot all ships must stop until their passengers 
and crews are examined. If contagious disease is found on 
board, the ship is held until all danger is past. The national, 
state, and local governments sometimes unite in a quarantine 
measure. When the country was in danger of the plague in 
the harbor of New Orleans and also in San Francisco, a com- 



GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 59 

bined effort of all the units of government was made to kill the 
rats which infested the cities mentioned, as they are the 
carriers of the fleas which carry the disease to human beings. 
So successful has the fight been that the cities are now practi- 
cally free from these pests, and danger from the plague is 
not feared. Government officials also conduct experiments 
in the prevention and control of dangerous diseases, and a 
number of them have given their lives in these experiments. 
Such men have just as truly given their lives to the country 
as if they had lost them on the battle field. 

Food. — Food and drink are prime necessities of life. 
Those who raise the food for the nation are constantly study- 
ing how to increase the supply that the world may be properly 
fed. Young men and women go to college to study better 
methods of farming, improved implements and machinery 
are invented, and more efficient management of farms is 
learned. Boys and girls form corn clubs, pig clubs, and 
canning clubs, that when they grow up they may be success- 
ful in their work as food producers. Cooperative associa- 
tions are formed among food producers, which make the 
marketing of foods easier and cheaper and give the members 
of the cooperative association better prices, at the same time 
supplying a better product to the consumer. 

The government tries in many ways to help those who raise 
our food. State Departments of Agriculture and the Federal 
Department of Agriculture conduct helpful experiments, 
the State Sealer of Weights and Measures or a similar official, 
with his local representatives, tries to prevent fraud in weight 
and measure through local inspections. 

Food inspection. — Nevertheless, in spite of all the care 
from individuals and watchfulness on the part of the govern- 
ment, dishonest dealers offer bad food for sale. Sickness is 



60 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

sometimes caused by bad or impure food. Before much 
of our food comes into our homes it has been inspected 
by government officials. The local inspectors visit the retail 
stores, and if food unfit to eat is oft'ered for sale, it is seized 
and destroyed. The great stockyards and meat packing 
houses of the West are under the control of the federal 
government, whose inspectors see to it that no meat is 
shipped that is not fit for food. 

After a long fight, Congress, the law-making body at 
Washington, has passed a series of laws prescribing the 
methods by which food may be placed on sale, and the 
means by which it may be preserved. Unscrupulous manu- 
facturers were in the habit of using poisonous or dangerous 
materials in the preparation of canned goods and other 
foods. Some placed paraffine in a preparation used for icing 
cakes, some placed poisonous coloring matter in catsup and 
other highly colored foods, some mixed foreign material 
in flour to give it weight. All such acts have been stopped 
by the laws which force every manufacturer of food to state 
exactly what the food contains, and to guarantee that the 
food is pure and not preserved with harmful materials. 

Patent medicine laws. — The law has also been called 
upon to govern the manufacture of patent medicines. Many 
patent medicines were frauds, compounded of poor whisky, 
water, some coloring matter, and some harmful drug. Thou- 
sands of people unconsciously became slaves of whisky or 
some habit-forming drug by the use of these medicines. 
Since the passage of the law, all patent medicines must 
state plainly upon their wrapper the materials of which the 
medicine is made. Some companies which made these medi- 
cines have been forced to go out of business and others 
have been required to change their formulas to comply with 



GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 61 

the law. If a person is ill, it is much better to go to a doctor 
than to rely on a medicine about which he knows nothing. 

A pure water supply. — Water is one of the necessities of 
good health. If the water supply of a community is poor, 
sickness follows. One of the most common diseases arising 
from a contaminated water supply is typhoid fever. One 
of the most important duties of a local government is to ar- 
range for an abundant supply of pure water, that dis- 
ease may be avoided. Reservoirs are built to hold back a 
sufficient supply, which is piped to the town or city and then 
into our homes. Great care is taken that all the water which 
drains into a reservoir is pure and that all the land sur- 
rounding the water supply is kept in a sanitary condition. 
Many times whole farms are purchased that there may be no 
chance for the water to be impure. So important is this 
matter that if the owners will not sell voluntarily, the state 
may join with the local authorities and force the sale of such 
land for a proper compensation. This right of the state to 
take land for public use is called the right of eminent domain. 

Frequently, in the rural districts the water supply is not as 
pure as in the cities. The supply comes from wells, springs, 
lakes or rivers, and often rain water is caught and stored in 
cisterns. Since clear water is not necessarily pure water, 
the water used should be tested. Such a test may usually 
be had on application to the state commissioner of health. 

One should never drink from a brook or a river unless per- 
fectly sure that the water is uncontaminated by impurities. 
In rural districts especial care should be taken in the disposal 
of sewage. Carelessness in this respect, on a farm ten miles 
from a city, caused a typhoid epidemic to break out in the 
city. Scores of lives were lost because of someone's care- 
lessness. Ice water should not be made by putting the ice 



62 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

in the water, but by placing the water bottle on the ice. 
Some dangerous germs are not killed by freezing. 

Health of school children. — The state and local au- 
thorities look after the health of the children in the schools. 
The state does not permit a school building to be erected 
without specifying that proper sanitary arrangements must 
be made, that it must be properly ventilated, and that there 
must be a sufficient amount of light properly arranged. 
The authorities in most states forbid children under cer- 
tain ages to work in factories and stores. Years ago, 
thousands of very 3'oung children died from being forced 
to work long hours a day in factories. The state of 
New York has a recent law which compels gymnastic 
exercises to be given in all the schools, both country and 
city. Such exercises are of particular value to the country 
schools, for the draft made during the World War revealed 
the fact that country boys were far less perfect physically 
than the boys of the city. 

Rules for health. — The attitude of a person's mind has a 
great deal to do with being sick. All the laws passed by all 
the different governments will not keep us well unless we do 
our share. Some one has written out a set of rules for us 
to follow if we wish to keep in good health. 

" Don't worry. 

Don't hurry. 

Sleep and rest abundantly. 

Spend less nervous energy each day than you make. 

That is, work like a man, but don't be worked to death. 

Be cheerful, for a light heart lives long. 

Think only healthful thoughts, for as a man thinketh in 
his heart, so is he. 

Avoid passion and excitement. 



GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 



63 



Associate only with healthy people, for health is con- 
tagious, as well as disease. 
Never despair, for lost hope is a fatal disease." 




The HanJof Healih 

ffeach for ffyese flue vece^sit/es mih a c/ear? 
hand ar?d a dear head^ O Alan , and if 
need be, clinch j/our hand ard fight for them. 



Drawn by Edtotna Walsh, Photo byW.A. Ounn 



64 COMMUNITY CIVICS 



Questions for Investigation 

1. In what ways does smoke interfere with the health of a com- 
munity? Has your community passed any ordinances against it? 
Are they enforced ? If not, why ? 

2. Why do many communities set aside a week each year known as 
"Clean-up" week? What is accomplished during such a period? 

3. Give some laws that have been passed recently to protect the 
health of the people of your town. Your state. 

4. What does the government do to help the poor and the ignorant 
take care of their health? Does a person have to pay to go to the 
hospital ? 

5. What are some of the precautions each home should take to keep 
disease away ? 

6. Name the officials of the town, county, state, and nation who 
look after your health. 

7. How does the national government protect the health of the 
people during an epidemic ? 

8. Why is spitting on the sidewalk or in a public place a menace to 
health? What diseases does it spread? Has your community an 
ordinance against spitting ? Is it enforced ? If not, why ? 

9. Were you ever quarantined ? If so, write a composition telling 
about your experience. 

10. How is the waste material of your city disposed of? Do you 
think that there are better ways than your city uses ? What are they ? 

11. Are there laws in your state against leaving machinery un- 
guarded ? Are those laws enforced ? 

12. Which are the healthier, country boys or city boys? How can 
you prove your statement ? 

13. How is health cared for in the average farmer's family ? In the 
average city family? Can you give any reasons for the conditions in 
each? 

14. How many parks does your community possess? Does it give 
you any place to play ball ? Are there places in the parks for the girls 
to play ? 

15. What is the difference between a "contagious" disease and 
one that is called "infectious"? 

16. What special laws has your state for the protection of the health 
of the school children ? 

17. Does your community have a Health Center? What benefits 
are derived from such a center ? 



GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH 65 

18. Why is it better for communities located in river valleys not 
to get their supplies of drinking water from the river? Do you 
know any such valleys ? How do the cities there get their drinking 
water ? 

19. Notice how many times a day you put your fingers to your 
lips. Were your fingers clean? Why should they be? 

20. " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Write 
the story of a citizen who learned through bitter experience the truth 
of this proverb when applied to the case of (a) his personal health, 
(b) the health of the community. 



CHAPTER V 

PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 

The government not only looks after the health of the 
people of the nation, but it also protects them and their 
property in other ways. The national constitution (see Chap- 
ter XXV) guarantees to every citizen three fundamental 
rights, the right of personal liberty, the right of personal 
securit}', and the right of private property. These are 
known as their civil rights. To make these rights secure, 
the people of the nation must be protected from all harm 
as they go about their several duties, and their property 
must be made safe to them so that their homes may be safe. 
We have seen that the home is the basis upon which the 
nation is built, and unless our homes are secure, the nation 
falls. The government protects us in one way or another 
from the time that we are born to the day of our death. 
It insists that every birth be recorded in the proper 
governmental office by the attending doctor, and every 
death must be recorded with its cause. We have seen 
that our protection begins in the home where we are pro- 
tected by our parents, but when we go out into the street 
away from our parents' direct care, the local government 
begins to protect us. 

The policeman. — In a city of any size there is seen walk- 
ing along the street, in whatever part of the city you may go, 
a person dressed in a blue uniform. He does not appear 
to be very busy, unless he stands at the intersection of several 

6d 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 67 

streets and by the wave of his hand controls the stream of 
traffic which flows by him. Even here he simply waves his 
hand and the traffic stops or starts as he indicates. Some- 
times we see such a man mounted on a horse riding slowly 
along the street, or perhaps with staccato bark a motor- 
cycle carrying a blue-coated person rushes swiftly past us. 
We know this man as the policeman, sometimes known 
familiarly as the ^' cop." 

Apparently his is an easy position. All he seems to do 
is to walk back and forth, or to ride his horse or 
his motorcycle about the streets. How does this protect 
the citizens? But here comes a runaway horse racing 
madly up the street. The crowd scatters in a rush for 
safety. The street is deserted except for the bluecoat on a 
horse. He hears the clatter of the approaching runaway 
and swiftly turns and rides madly apparently away 
from the trouble. But we notice that the runaway is 
gradually catching up with the officer, and that his well- 
trained horse gradually edges toward the frightened animal. 
Soon the two horses are racing side by side, and the officer 
has grasped the fallen reins. His horse is now slowing 
down and before long the maddened animal, under full con- 
trol of the policeman and his horse, is brought to a stand- 
still. This is an example of one sort of work of the police 
force and is known as protective work. 

Night comes. A man is trying to force his way into a 
house. The policeman as he walks along his beat hears the 
noise of the window as it creaks under the force of the 
burglar's " jimmy." At once the bluecoat rushes toward 
the building, and after a struggle the marauder is over- 
powered, and taken away to punishment. This is also 
protective work. 



68 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

There is another kind of work done by the poHceman. 
This is known as preventive work. His very presence on the 
street, the very fact that evil-disposed persons know that 
back of the poHceman is the full power of the law, is suffi- 
cient to keep them from wrong-doing. When boys are 
playing ball in the street or doing something they know is 
wrong, the very cry, " Run, here comes the cop," is suffi- 
cient to cause a scattering without further warning. The 
boys know that ball-playing in the street is forbidden by a 
city ordinance, and since they realize they are guilty, the 
sight alone of the policeman is enough to stop the game. 
But we should remember that the important fact about a police- 
man's work is that he does his work not to be a terror to the 
people, but to act as a protector. The ball players are 
interfering with the rights of others in the street, and that 
is the reason why the policeman puts a stop to the game, 
not because he dislikes to have boys play ball. To him all 
are entitled to look for help and it will be gladly given. 

Such an officer is usually appointed to his work, in some 
cities by what is known as the Department of Public Safety, 
and in others by the mayor. His appointment is usually 
made after an examination of the candidate as to his knowl- 
edge of his duties, of the city, its streets and public build- 
ings. 

The village constable. — ^In the smaller towns and villages 
there are not so many people on the street to interfere with 
others' rights, and there is not so much traffic as in the city 
street. Yet no matter how small the town, there is gen- 
erally at least one officer chosen to keep the peace of 
the community. These officers are usually known as con- 
stables. In most cases, they are elected by the people whom 
they serve. During recent years, the duties and influence 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 



69 



of the constable have grown somewhat owing to the in- 
creased number of motor vehicles. He is the authority who 
enforces the local ordinances against the speeding of such 
vehicles, and his enforcement of the law, though it may 
seem harsh to the motorists who are caught, has doubtless 
saved many from accident and harm. 




A Bad Fire 
The state capitol at Albany, New York, on fire. 



Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 



The fireman. — Not only may citizens demand protec- 
tion from harm from each other, on the streets, in the home 
and elsewhere, but there is another danger that sometimes 
threatens which citizens expect government to ward off, 
that is, the danger from fire. Most cities and towns main- 
tain some sort of an organization to fight fire. " Fire is a 
good servant, but a bad master," and when it is in danger 



70 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



of becoming master it needs to be controlled. In cities 
much expensive apparatus is bought, engines, trucks, chemi- 
cal engines, fire tugs, automobiles for the chiefs, and what- 
ever is necessary to fight the destroyer. In some cities, 
smoke helmets are in use, a device which permits a fireman 
to enter thick and stifling smoke without danger. A 
modern invention, the pulmotor, is used to restore those 




i 'ourttsy of RiUlurfurd Hayner 

Fire Apparatus of a Small Community during its Early 

History 

who have been overcome by smoke and gas. In smaller 
towns so much apparatus is not necessary, and the work is 
done by volunteer companies. The fire hose or the engine 
is usually dragged to the place of danger by these volunteers, 
who have a healthy rivalry as to the first company to reach 
the fire. 

The duty of the citizen. — The special duty of every 
good citizen is to see that fire does not start, and to help 
in this matter people are being urged to be careful in the 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 



71 



use of fire. Indeed, so successful has this campaign been 
that in one year alone in New York City, one million dollars 




Courtesy of RuUicrfonl Hayner 
A Horse-drawn Steamer 



worth of property has been saved and 10,000 fires prevented. 
Three fourths of all the fires are due to children. Election 
bonfires are fun, but dangerous fun. Fireworks on the 




Courtesy of Rutherford, Hayner \ 



A Modern Pumper 
Compare the three types of fire apparatus on these two pages. 

Fourth of July give pleasure to many, but their careless use 
causes many fires. In some states a special day, known as 



72 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Fire Prevention day, is set apart on which a special interest 
is aroused as to the different means by which fires may be 
avoided. 

Fire insurance. — By the payment of a small sum an- 
nually, to an insurance company, one may insure his prop- 
erty against fire. Over these companies the state exercises 
a watchful care. No insurance company may do business 
without the authority of the state. The financial ability 
of the company, the honesty of its officials, and its 
ability to pay its debts, are carefully investigated by the 
state. Such companies are of great value to a community, 
if they are properly conducted, for they give a person who 
suffers a loss by fire a chance to secure some recompense 
for loss. 

How the county and the state protect us. — The sheriff 
of the county gives protection to the people in his county. 
(See Chapter XVI.) In a like manner but with added powers 
the state takes care of us. The state protects those within 
its borders by means of men who may protect us against 
harm just as the sheriff of the county, the policeman of the 
city, or the constable of the town does ; and also by means of 
the city and county lawmaking bodies, which pass laws for 
our protection, as does the lawmaking body of the state, 
which passes laws to protect the citizens of the whole state. 

The state militia consists of all able-bodied male citizens 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. That part of the 
militia which is organized and drilled is known as the national 
guard. Appropriations are made from time to time by the 
state authorities for the support of the guard, to build armories 
for the purpose of drill and the housing of arms, to furnish 
guns and ammunition and other supplies. From time to time 
the guard meets at the armories to learn the work and duties 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 73 

of soldiers. When need arises, it may be called upon to act as 
police, that is, to protect the people against violence and see 
that the laws of the state are executed. Because the guards- 
man is the servant of the state he may not be called upon for 
service outside the limits of the state in which he lives. When 
need arises, however, if the militia is called upon, the guards- 
men may volunteer their services to the United States and be- 
come soldiers in the regular army of the country. When the 
guard is called upon to act in case of rioting or other violence 
it acts as the regular soldiers do upon a campaign. 

The state constabulary. — Some states have a regular 
body of policemen known as the State Constabulary or the 
State Police. New York and Pennsylvania have such 
bodies of troopers. These men police the country districts 
as the policemen do the city. In case of trouble they can 
be assembled rapidly to check the disturbance before it 
has made headway. Arrangements have been made by 
the commander of the troops that a message " Call the State 
Police," which reaches a telephone office, has precedence 
over all other messages. The result of the swift sum- 
mons is that the troopers are able immediately to get on 
track of the criminals and catch them. The constabulary 
travel in pairs, and have been very successful in putting 
down riots and in apprehending those who have broken the 
laws. 

Protective laws. — Another method of protection by the 
state is by the passing of protective laws. (See Chapter 
XVIII.) Among such laws passed by the various states are 
those for the control of speeding automobiles ; those compel- 
ling manufacturers to install safety devices for the protection 
of workers from machinery ; those requiring the placing of 
automatic or other devices for the control of fires; those 



74 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



providing for frequent fire drills to enable employees in a 
factory or children in a school to leave the building quickly 
and in an orderly manner in case need arises. Steamboat 




Courtesy of the Department of State Policr. Xr/r YorJc 
A State Trooper 

What are his duties ? How would you get his help in case of need ? 

and railroad companies are subject to regulations pertaining 
to the safety of their employees. 

Protection by the nation. — But the care taken of the 
citizens by the local unit, the county, or the state would not 
protect us outside the borders of our own states. In such 
an emergency it is the national government that takes care 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 



75 



of us. It is the duty of the national government to protect 
us from invasion from without or rebelHon from within. 
For this purpose an army and a navy are maintained 
(see Chapter XXI) ; forts are built and equipped with 
guns ; airplanes fly swiftly through the air ; and subma- 
rines scout beneath the waters of the ocean. During the 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
Transporting Troops in War Time 

The Leviathan bringing home the 27th Division after the World War. 
Compare the size of the ships in the picture. 



war with Germany it was necessary for the national govern- 
ment to put forth especial effort to protect the people of the 
United States from harm, and to help the allied nations to 
make the world a safe place to live in. Millions of men and 
thousands of ships had to be armed and equipped before the 
people of this country could be safe to go about their busi- 
ness in peace. 



76 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

The government protects us not only on the land but 
even when we travel on the ocean. Each passenger ship is 
compelled to carry a wireless outfit that help may be sum- 
moned if needed. It provides maps and charts that the 
ship may find its way about the ocean. Along the coasts 
and on our inland lakes and navigable rivers, lighthouses 
are built and maintained and buoys are placed that ships 
may travel in safety. If ships are wrecked, the life-saving 
crews maintained along the shores save all the lives they can, 
even placing their own in danger that ocean-going travelers 
may be saved. 

In a previous chapter (see Chapter IV) we have seen that 
some dangers are such a menace to the nation as a whole 
that the law-making body in Washington, Congress, has 
passed laws to keep us safe from harm. We have learned 
that it forbids ships having people with contagious diseases 
on board to enter any harbor, and keeps quarantine stations 
outside each harbor that all incoming ships may be examined. 
It provides for the inspection by government officials of the 
great slaughter houses and meat-packing establishments, 
so that no diseased animals may be sold for food. It has 
passed a law for the further protection of our health by forc- 
ing manufactured food to be made in a clean manner and to 
be pure. 

The government builds great embankments to prevent 
the destruction of homes by floods. Along the Mis- 
sissippi there are hundreds of miles of such embankments 
built and kept in repair by the national government. 
Sometimes in spite of the greatest care, Nature takes its 
way, and laughs at the puny efforts of man to restrain it. 
Great floods break open the embankments, many lives 
are lost, and thousands of dollars worth of property are 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 



77 




destroyed. A violent storm nearly destroyed the city 
of Galveston, but the government has built a great sea wall 
which has saved the city from further harm. 

" Safety first." — Among some large corporations, such as 
railroad corporations, there has been a great disregard for the 
lives of the people during 
past years. Not many 
years ago, however, a 
movement was started by 
the railroads which has 
saved the lives of thou- 
sands and prevented 
other thousands of acci- 
dents. This is sometimes 
called the " Safety First " 
movement. Posted con- 
spicuously along the rail- 
road lines are the words 
"Safety First." Such 
notices are posted in 
many foreign languages, 
so that those who cannot read English may receive warning. 
These notices indicate that the safety of the passengers and 
employees must come before any other consideration. If a 
person wishes to cross the tracks before an oncoming train, 
this advice means to wait until the train has gone by and 
the road is safe. If there is a short cut along the tracks to 
one's home, this notice advises the longer route because it is 
safer. 

The cry has been taken up by other corporations, and 
already much greater care is exercised to prevent accidents. 
Sorne employers, in whose work shops injury to the eyes 



Courtesy of Safety Institute of America 

The Right Way to Get Off a Trolley 
Car 

Always face toward the front of the 
car. Then you will not be thrown down 
if the car starts before you have stepped 
off. 



78 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

might be caused by flying particles, require all their employees 
who might be endangered to wear protecting glasses ; others, 
in whose factories the lungs of the employees might be 
filled with lint or noxious gases, have taken means to free 
the air of such impurities. 

As we review all the care taken of us by the city or the 
village, the state, and the nation, we wonder why so many 
accidents occur, and why our right to personal security, 
to '' safety first," is so insecure. It is because people do not 
respect the rights of others, or are careless of their own rights. 
When people train themselves to quick obedience to the laws, 
when they learn to exercise necessary care, one by one 
the punishments prescribed by government for disregarding 
the laws for the protection of ourselves and others may be 
repealed. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. Has your state a constabulary force? How is it organized? 
Where are its sections located ? How would you summon it, if needed ? 

2. Does your community maintain efficient police and fire depart- 
ments ? What leads you to this conclusion ? 

3. How great power does the chief of the fire department have? 

4. How do you summon the police and the fire departments ? Do 
you know where the fire alarm box nearest to your home is located ? 
The nearest police station ? How do you send in a fire alarm ? What 
is the punishment for a false alarm ? 

5. Is your home insured ? How would you go about having your 
home insured ? 

6. What protection has your community against fire? What 
apparatus has it ? 

7. What were the early means of fighting fire in your community? 

8. What do you mean when you say, "That building is a good fire 
risk " ? 

9. Which do you think is the more efficient, a paid or a volunteer fire 
department ? Why ? 

10. How does an American citizen in a foreign country get protec- 
tion if needed ? 



PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 79 

11. In what ways does the state protect your school ? Your home? 

12. What laws and regulations has your state, or your community, 
or both, passed for the guidance of those who use automobiles ? What 
punishment may be given those who break these laws ? 

13. When has the federal government the power to take charge of a 
state government to protect it? Can you give any examples of such 
protection ? 

14. What measures were taken during the War with Germany to 
protect this country from enemy attacks ? 

15. Write a composition on one of the following subjects, "The Work 
of the State Constabulary," "The Work of the Marines outside the 
War Zone/' "Fire Prevention." 



CHAPTER VI 
GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 

There is an old proverb with which most boys and girls 
are familiar, '' All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." 
It means that a person who never plays becomes stupid and 
is not so well able to do his work as the one who takes 
some rest from his daily task. The farther people ad- 
vance in civilization, the more they understand that this 
proverb is true, and they make some provision in their life for 
recreation. Indeed, play has come to be regarded as so 
important that government assists in various ways in pro- 
viding means of recreation for the people. We shall see 
later what these means are and also that recreation is best 
enjoyed when it is under proper supervision. 

Recreation in pioneer times. — The boys and girls of 
pioneer days had little time for recreation. Their life was 
too hard and too full of work for much time to be spent in 
play. In New England particularly play of most sorts was 
looked upon as a device of Satan to steal away the soul of 
the unwary boy or girl who persisted in such frivolous 
things. A visit to the stocks or the jail might be the pun- 
ishment of an older person who thought a good time came 
before work. The boy who played in church on Sunday 
was pretty apt to find himself before the solemn magis- 
trate on Monday morning. The old records of the towns 
in New England have many accounts of boys and girls who 

80 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 81 

were brought before such a judge on the morning after the 
Sabbath for '' rude and idle behavior in the church on the 
Sabbath and for larfing and pulHng the hair of their neigh- 
bors." One of the colleges of one hundred and thirty years 
ago had a rule which read as follows : '' The students shall 
be indulged with nothing which the world calls play. Let 
this rule be observed with the strictest nicety, for those 
who play when they are young will play when they are old." 

In the middle and southern colonies there was more oppor- 
tunity for the children to let off some of their steam dur- 
ing the week and thus be able to behave better on Sundays. 
Playing was not frowned upon as it was in the New Eng- 
land colonies, and both young and old had their moments 
of relaxation. There was plenty of room for play. People 
had not yet begun to be crowded together in cities. 

When the people of the colonies did play they played 
hard. This is common to frontier and pioneer life. Re- 
laxation comes so seldom that advantage is taken of every 
minute offered. The government of the time did not have 
much to do with providing means for recreation. It had 
more to do with controlling those whose play went beyond 
reasonable bounds. In the southern colonies the settlers 
enjoyed horse racing, cock fighting, shooting at a mark, and 
various sports of such character. On special occasions even 
the slaves were permitted to participate in the fun. The 
people of the middle colonies took their fun with more serious- 
ness than did those of the south. The inn or tavern was a 
meeting place for the men, somewhat as the modern club is, 
but the government exercised small care over such places, 
though it was ready enough to stop anything which might 
lead to disorder. All these methods of recreation were looked 
upon with disfavor in New England. The May Day festi- 



82 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

val of one of the settlements came into such disfavor with 
the authorities, that some of the stricter Puritans went to the 
town, cut down the May-pole, and arrested and punished 
those who had been engaged in such sinful sport. 

Change to modern times. — As time went on and more 
people began to crowd together in the cities conditions 
changed. To-day such a rule as that of the college men- 
tioned above would not be tolerated. The Sabbath of not 
many years ago was a day when a walk through the fields 
was not a thing to be even mentioned. So great a change 
has taken place that to-day the fear is that children will 
not get enough play. The idea has taken hold of the people 
that if there are to be in the future strong, brave, and happy 
men and women, there must be happy children. We are be- 
ginning to learn that fresh air, good food, and plenty of fun 
are no more than the rightful heritage of. every child — not 
only this, but that they are the heritage also of the '' grown- 
ups." 

Such ideas have been brought about by modern conditions, 
which are widely different from those of colonial times. The 
crowded cities made impossible much space for recreation. 
The play formerly enjoyed by the young people, and also by 
the older members of society, began to infringe upon the rights 
of others. Boys could no longer play ball in the streets. They 
hampered traffic, endangered pedestrians, and caused dam- 
age to the windows of the neighborhood. Girls could no 
longer roll their hoops or play other games in the streets 
without danger to themselves. The long hill where the 
bob-sleds flashed down the icy street was no longer safe for 
those who used it for traffic, and the " bobbers " put their 
own lives in danger on each ride. As such conditions arose, 
it became necessary for the government of the locality 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 



83 




Courtesy of Safety Institute of America 
Ball Playing in the Street 

The kind of accident that may arise from innocent fun. What should 
the city do to help such a condition as the pictures show? 



84 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

to step in and put a stop to such dangerous practices, or at 
least to regulate them by law. They might be innocent in 
themselves, but with the changing conditions of life, they 
had become harmful to the community. 

What was to be done ? All play could not be stopped ; 
that would not be fair to the boys and girls, and above all 
else, government tries to be fair. The population of many 
cities grew so rapidly that the problem became a serious 
one. Not only did evil places begin to offer a means of 
recreation to young and old, but groups of boys and young 
men, " gangs," began to disregard the law entirely in their 
search for recreation. Such disregard led to criminal conduct, 
and the police had more than they could do to control the 
lawlessness which sprang up. Such a disregard of law 
brought about crime, and as a result the cities of New York 
and Chicago, together with the other large cities of the 
country, had to face problems which seemed almost im- 
possible of solution. Slowly but surely, however, these 
problems are being solved. Cities and other communities 
are passing laws that make provision for proper recrea- 
tion not only for the children, but also for older people, 
who because of city limitations have nowhere to go to find 
that relaxation from work that is so necessary to a person's 
well-being. 

Playgrounds. — When a city has to put a stop to the 
games of the boys and girls in the street or in the vacant 
lots of the city, because they have become a nuisance to the 
neighborhood, as we have said it is only fair that some 
place should be provided by the municipal government 
where these boys and girls may play without harm to others. 
Many cities have done this by the establishment of parks 
and playgrounds free to 9,11. Here a ball ground is laid out. 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 85 

tennis courts are made, swings and other apparatus for 
play are provided for all. These are used under the direc- 
tion of older people who are paid by the city authorities or 
from private funds. These directors of games are persons 
who have been trained to know how to help the children to 
have a good time. They show them that a better time 
may be had by observing the rights of others than by play- 
ing without regard for anything except one's own happi- 
ness. 

School and play. — The old-fashioned district school 
made provision for a recess in the middle of the morning 
session and also in the middle of the afternoon session. 
This gave the children a chance to work off their surplus 
energy and to keep in good health by outdoor play. Land 
is so valuable in the modern city that it is not possible in 
many cases to provide a place out of doors which the chil- 
dren may call their own, but the modern school is trying to 
adapt itself to such conditions. Many schools have a 
gymnasium, and here play is carried on under an instructor. 
Recently New York State has gone farther. Its legis- 
lature has passed a law which makes it obligatory that the 
children in all the schools of the state shall have a period in 
which some systematic training in the building up of the 
body shall be given. Whenever a school is built to-day, 
provision is made in some way for recreation. 

Other means of recreation. — School, however, does 
not take up all the time of the children. What is to be done 
for the other times when they wish to play ? We have seen 
how city governments provide playgrounds for some. But 
there are many who, for one reason or another, cannot 
take advantage of the means provided. To these are left 
the city streets with their dirt and danger. Recently 



86 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




Courtesy of Safety Institute of America 
One of the Dangers of Street Play 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 



87 



the city of New York, where the problem of play is es- 
pecially complicated, recognizing the right of the children 
to play free from danger, has set aside certain streets near 
which there are no parks or playgrounds. These areas are 




Courtesy oj Safety InstUute of America. 
One of the Dangers of Street Play 

This series of three pictures demonstrates the need for city playgrounds 
to prevent such accidents as this- See also page 83. 

given over to the children for play, usually under the super- 
vision of older persons. Cities with a water front some- 
times provide municipal docks. Here those who will may 
enjoy the cooling breezes and find relief from the torrid 
heat of the city streets or the humid odors of their homes. 



88 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



Not only do the school and the municipal authorities 
make plans so that the children and older persons may 
have places for recreation, but the state and the nation also 
have set aside regions under the control of state and national 
authority for such a purpose. Many states have set aside 
portions of their territory as state parks and keep them for 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 

Cottages at Los Angeles Municipal Camp in the Angeles 

Forest 



the pleasure of the people. Here those who like to hunt 
may go in the proper season. The brooks are stocked with 
fish for the pleasure of the fisherman. Deer and other wild 
animals are protected by the state laws so that their num- 
bers may increase, and they may not be entirely destroyed 
by indiscriminate hunting. For a small sum any one is per- 
mitted to rent a plot of ground for camping purposes, and 
here find health and pleasure. The national government 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 89 

has preserved several of the most beautiful spots of the 
United States from spoliation and reserved them for the 
use of present and future generations. The Yosemite 
Park is such a place preserved in all its grandeur and beauty 
for the pleasure seeker. 

All people do not like to take their recreation out of 
doors. To many, such a mode of life does not appeal. 
They prefer to read a book at home or to go to the theater or 
a moving-picture show. Such people may have an active 
life out of doors and need the change to something in- 
doors. To assist these in their search for recreation, munic- 
ipal governments and private individuals have established 
free libraries, open to the public, v/here one may go and 
read or may borrow books. The theater and the " movie," 
though not managed by the municipality, are subject to 
its rules. The law-making bodies of the town or city (see 
Chapters XVI-XVII) where the playhouses are erected take 
care of the safety of those who attend by regulating the num- 
ber who may enter such buildings, the material from which 
they are built, the exits, and in fact all that pertains to 
the safety of the patrons of the theaters. In many states, 
the state government steps in and compels moving-picture 
operators to be licensed. This is done that danger may be 
eliminated because of ignorant or careless handling of the 
necessary apparatus. 

Many people get their recreation from gardens. They 
think that working in the soil brings rest to the tired mind 
and body. The green of the growing plants, the song of 
the birds, the smell of the upturned soil bring to many their 
greatest recreation. Remember that the word means 
re-creation, that is, creating again. The government at 
Washington helps in this method, too, for it will provide 



90 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

free seeds, both vegetable and flower seeds, for the asking. 
Full instructions for the making of a garden may be ob- 
tained from the Department of Agriculture (see Chapter 
XXI), which is the department of the government that pro- 
vides the seeds. 

Corporations and recreation. — So great is the interest 
recently aroused in scientific recreation, and what it means 
to health, that certain practical reforms have been in- 
augurated by large business organizations. Great corpora- 
tions with large numbers of employees have learned by ex- 
perience that these employees give better service and are 
more efficient in every way if legitimate recreation and 
amusement is provided by the company. For such reasons 
the great railroad corporations help in the support of 
different societies, that their men may there find a place 
in which to pass the night when they are away from home, 
or such hours as the}^ are off dut}^ Other corporations 
maintain at their own expense clubhouses and other 
places of recreation, so that there will be no excuse for 
their employees to pass their time in questionable resorts 
where money and time would be ill spent and working 
capacity lowered. Large department stores provide rest 
and recreation rooms for their workers. Many corporations 
give a vacation with full pay to those who work for them. 

The governments of many states have regulated the 
hours during which men and women may work, thus giving 
sufficient time for recreation. New York and other states 
regulate the hours during which women may be employed 
in stores, factories, and other places of business. As we have 
seen, the hours during which children may be employed and 
the age at which they may go to work are regulated by 
state law in almost everv state in the Union. 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 



91 




The Cikcus 



Courtesy of Rvtfierford Hayner- 




A Ball Game 
Two forms of recreation. 



( 'ourltsi/ I / Uiuiurfiird Hayncr 



92 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Clubs and associations. — Many people find their recrea- 
tion in clubs or societies. Such clubs are conducted by pri- 
vate means to provide places where, by the payment of a small 
sum, any one may share in the privileges of the building. 
The gymnasium, swimming pools, games of all sorts, the 
daily papers and good books are free to all after the pay- 
ment of the dues. Such clubs or associations are the 
Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., the Young Men's Hebrew As- 
sociation, the Knights of Columbus, and many others which 
are less pretentious. Most of these combine moral train- 
ing with recreation. ''A sound mind in a sound body" is 
their motto. Such clubs have been a favorite means of 
fighting the '' gang " spirit which is found in many cities. 
Without proper leadership, boys' clubs degenerate into 
*' gangs," and as such are usually in trouble with the officers 
of the law. Properly directed, clubs are among the best 
ways of gaining recreation. 

The Boy Scouts. — One of the most notable movements 
which has for its object the control of a boy's recreation 
has recently been granted letters of incorporation by the 
national government. This is the Boy Scouts of America. 
It has for its object the '' patriotism that causes the boy to 
love his country, and instead of boasting about it, to serve 
it by being a good citizen." The recreation hours of the 
boys are spent in drill, in learning the principles of the Boy 
Scouts, in going out in the open, in learning how, through 
recreation, to be honorable, loyal, obedient, and patriotic. 
So great has been the success of the movement that it has 
spread all over the world, — even in far-away New Zealand 
there are troops of Boy Scouts. At present there are in the 
United States nearly 400,000 boys and about 90,000 men 
interested in the movement. Although the movement is 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 



93 



not at all military in its conception, yet the Belgian Scouts 
and those of England, France, and the United States per- 
formed valuable services to their respective countries during 
the great European war. The motto of the Scouts is. 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
Boy Scout Camp 

" Be Prepared " ; the oath which each one takes when he 
becomes a member of the organization is as follows : 
" On my honor I will do my best 

(1) to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey 
the scout law ; 

(2) to help other people at all times ; 

(3) to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, 
and morally straight." 



94 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

The Girl Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls are associa- 
tions of girls which provide recreation and training for girls 
as the Scout organization does for boys. 

Need of supervision of recreation. — We have often 
spoken above of the need for supervision of playgrounds. 
There is also another form of recreation which needs com- 
petent aid from older persons. This is school athletics. 
The city of San Francisco believes this so thoroughly that 
it has organized a department to take entire charge of the 
athletics in the schools. Young boys and girls need the 
guidance of older heads in their ball games and other forms 
of play. Sometimes they do not believe this, but if they will 
stop and think a minute they will see the need of such super- 
vision. Young people need care because they are apt to get 
injured or to overdo. Too strenuous games do more harm 
than good. There is need that boys and girls be taught 
the right and wrong ways of recreation. It is fitting to win 
a game if it is won honestly. There are some who wish to 
win anyway, thinking that the winning is all there is to a 
•game. This, however, is a very small part. What the game 
teaches of honor, fairness, and the right spirit towards one's 
opponent, and the satisfaction to be gained from doing 
one's best even if beaten, are worth much more than the 
mere winning. Such things are learned by experience, 
and for this reason it is a good thing for older people, who 
have already learned by experience, to have charge of the 
recreation of those who are younger or those who have never 
had the experience necessary to teach proper means of 
recreation. 

Many people get a great deal of their recreation on our 
national holidays. In former times, the enjoyment of one of 
them, the Fourth of July, was spoiled by the kind of pleas- 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 95 

iires indulged in. Dangerous explosives and diseases arising 
from wounds inflicted by them caused so many deaths that 
government, usually local, began to turn its attention to 
putting a stop to the dangerous practices. The movement 
for a " Safe and Sane Fourth of July " has been very wide- 
spread. For many years there was a long list of killed and 
injured from the celebrations in the different towns. The 
citizens finally awakened to the fact that such forms of 
celebration as endangered lives were not justifiable. The 
result has been that laws have been passed regulating the 
sale of explosives, other means of celebrating the day have 
been provided, doctors have made ready a sufficient supply 
of serums to administer in case of injury, and children have 
been taught to be careful in the use of fire crackers and other 
explosives. The death rate and the number of those injured 
have been very materially lessened, and yet every one has 
had just as good a time as previously. 

Reasons for recreation. — Why is it necessary for every 
one to take recreation of some sort, in some way or other? 
Why does government interfere and in many cases regulate 
the number of hours people may work? What is there 
about recreation that is so needful, besides the fact that 
it is fun? First of all, the body and mind are like a 
steel spring, which, if kept tightly coiled for a long time, 
will break. Minds and bodies need relaxation and rest 
from labor, or else they will give out. This is the reason why 
so many people have nervous breakdowns and other nervous 
diseases. The tired muscles need the relaxation of quiet, 
the tired mind needs the quiet and peace of the out-of-doors 
or the restful book. Boys and girls need vacations from 
school work and older people need vacations from their 
labor. Second, it is good to have a change of scene, of sur- 



96 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

roundings, to see new faces. This helps the mind and body 
to rest. Third, it gives us a new view of Hfe. Many people 
become so attached to their work that without relaxing 
they see nothing but their little narrow treadmill of work. 
This makes them narrow-minded ; they do not get the best 
things from life and miss a great deal of happiness which 
might be theirs if they had a proper amount of recreation. 

Government is interested in recreation because of the 
effect it has in bettering citizenship. To provide attractive 
playgrounds for boys and girls where they will get beneficial 
exercise and wholesome enjoyment in the form of games, is 
to lessen idleness and the evils which go with it, which are so 
harmful to young people. To provide public baths and whole- 
some entertainment in which people's bodies and minds may 
be re-created is to lessen the evils which are in every crowded 
city. Playgrounds reduce juvenile crime, for almost all 
juvenile delinquency is misdirected play. 

Education through play. — Play has great educational 
value. It develops the force which makes the energetic 
adult. It trains for practical life. ^' If a boy would pre- 
pare himself for politics and affairs, where will he get a better 
experience than in the leadership and organization of the 
playground?" By play judgment is trained. It is neces- 
sary only to watch a ball game to see that unerring judg- 
ment must be formed, and that instantly, in order to make 
a successful play. The very fact that the ball game is the 
play of a team and not one person's efforts, is of especial 
value. The most successful team is the one in which all its 
members play together and thus learn that they succeed best 
who work hardest for the interests of all. 

Play rightly directed trains the will power, teaches good 
sportsmanship, and arouses a sense of justice and honesty. 



GOVERNMENT AND PLAY 97 

A great firm of merchants in one of our largest cities never 
hires a man who comes from certain schools. The firm 
found that athletics in those schools were crooked and that 
the men from those schools could not be trusted. The right 
kind of play teaches democracy. '' You have to deliver the 
goods if you stay on the ball team, though your father is a 
millionaire." It arouses a spirit of obedience to law, of 
friendliness, and of loyalty. Play teaches boys and girls to 
think in terms larger than themselves and '' be willing to 
work unselfishly for the city, the country, and the organiza- 
tion to which they belong." The person who thinks only 
of himself and his own welfare is a bad citizen. The person 
who always conceives of himself as a member of a larger 
whole to which his loyalty is due is a good citizen. Presi- 
dent Cleveland said that every person should keep through 
life some form of play, because that was the only way a man 
could remain a good comrade. Good comradeship is the 
basis upon which our life with one another is built. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. How many parks has your community? What are the rules of 
the parks which govern your actions while you are there? What are 
the names of your parks ? What is the reason for the name of each ? 

2. Should the community fix the number of its parks in proportion 
to the number of the people of the community ? 

3. Should the community provide baseball grounds and tennis courts 
for its citizens ? Why ? 

4. Have you a Public Schools Athletic League in yoiu- community ? 
Write a composition on the advantages of such a league. 

5. Make a list of the means of recreation provided by your com- 
munity. Are any means of recreation lacking from this hst ? Why ? 

6. What places suitable for hunting, fishing, or camping does your 
state or the federal government or both provide? 

7. Does your state do anything to stock the streams with fish or the 
woods with game ? If so, what ? 



98 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

8. What are some of the laws of your state for the protection of wild 
game ? 

9. What did yom* community do during the war against Germany in 
making war gardens ? Was this recreation ? 

10. What are some of the duties required of you, if you go hunting 
or fishing on a state preserve, in return for the privileges you receive 
there ? 

11. How many books have you drawn from the public or school 
library and read, during the past year? What books interested you 
most? Why? 

12. May a boy take out a gun if he is under sixteen years of age? 
Why? 



CHAPTER VII 
TRANSPORTATION 

The Indian trail. — When the first colonists came to 
America, they found dim trails leading here and there, 
through the dark and leafy recesses of the forest. For many 
years these paths had been the highways of the Indians. 
How many years they had been used we do not know, but 
so very many that the trails were deeply worn, some of them 
being a foot in depth, where countless feet had pressed into 
the earth. They were, however, only about fifteen inches 
wide, only wide enough for the hunters and warriors to go in 
'' Indian file." There were trails for hunting, trails used in 
war, river trails, trade trails, and portage trails. " The 
origin of these trails and the selection of the routes pursued 
were the natural results of the every-day necessities and 
inclinations of the wandering race first inhabiting the land, 
and time had gradually fashioned the varying interests of 
successive generations into a crude system of general thor- 
oughfares to which all minor routes led. ... In general 
appearance these roads did not differ in any particular from 
the ordinary woods paths of the present day . . . but a 
somber silence, now and then interrupted by the songs of 
birds or the howling of wild beasts, reigned along these 
paths." 

The main trails in the east were the Old Connecticut 
Path, celebrated by a great American novelist as the " Bay 

99 



100 ' COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Path," stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Hudson 
River. From the Hudson, near where the city of Albany 
now stands, to the Niagara River ran the Iroquois trail, 
the scene of many a bloody fight and many a deadly ambush. 
The Kittaning Path passed through the lower part of Pennsyl- 
vania. Nemacolin's Path, one which had to do with much 
of our American history, ran along the Potomac and Ohio 
rivers ; while yet farther to the south through Virginia and 
Kentucky, the " dark and bloody ground," ran the Virginia 
Warriors' Path. Of these the Iroquois trail and the Vir- 
ginia Warriors' Path were used principally as war trails, 
while the Kittaning Path was a trading trail. Where these 
trails ended, there were others which led far into the bound- 
less West whose names it will not be necessary for us to recall. 

In connection with these trails were the " portages." 
These were so named by the French because at these places 
in the different trails it was necessary to carry the boats 
and their contents about some obstruction in the stream 
or from one stream to another. Streams made a portion 
of every trail where possible. It was easy to go in a canoe 
along the rivers, but the portages were oftentimes very 
difficult. We shall find that later these portages were im- 
portant points in our knowledge of transportation, for here 
very often towns sprang up which became great centers of 
industry. 

When the colonists came to America, they settled on or 
near some one of the many streams which empty into the 
ocean. The river they settled on gave them fresh water to 
use and an easy means of transporting whatever they might 
find in the woods. Indeed, so interlocked were the streams 
in Virginia that that state was much later than others in 
the buildinof of roads. It did not need them. This did 



TRANSPORTATION 101 

not suffice for long in most of the colonies, however, for as 
many other settlers came, roads were needed to transport 
them and their belongings to their place of settlement. Gov- 
ernment quickly saw the need of roads, for the General 
Court of Massachusetts in 1639 established the Coast Path 
from Plymouth to Boston. It was found that the easiest 
way to make a road was to follow the Indian trails, so they 
were widened and soon were fit for wagons as well as for 
those who went afoot or on horseback. As still more people 
came and began to go to the westward, again the Indian 
trails were used, the roads following the path trodden so 
many years by the natives. 

In New York State, the Hudson River and the Iroquois 
trail gave easy access into the interior. The Mohawk 
River could not be entered from the Hudson because the 
" Ga-ha-oose " (Cohoes) falls stretched a barrier across. 
So from the Hudson there was a long portage about these 
falls across the sand plains to the west of Albany. At the 
end of this portage, Arendt Van Curler and other inhabit- 
ants of Fort Orange (Albany), going west, founded a town 
to which they gave the name of Schenectady. From this 
point the river was clear, except a portage about a swift 
fall near the present city of Little Falls, until the site of Fort 
Stanwix (Rome) was reached. From here there was a carry 
to Wood's Creek, and this led to Lake Oneida, from which 
the Oswego River flowed into Lake Ontario. At Wood's 
Creek the trail branched off, one branch going as described, 
and the other going westward through the forests until it 
joined with many other trails at the lower falls of the 
Genesee River. The story of New England and New York 
is the story of the other states, for along the trails of the 
Indians went the tide of emigration which flowed westward. 



102 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Early roads. — The trails did not long suffice for the flood 
of migration, and the early colonial governments made pro- 
vision for the building of roads. These early roads were 
sometimes built by the state and sometimes by private com- 
panies, which received a charter from the government as 
any other business organization. Here and there along the 
roads houses were built, and stretching out from them across 
the road was a gate which was usually closed. These 
gates were known as toll gates, for here each one who used 
the road was compelled to pay a toll before the gate would 
be opened so that he might pass through. The money so 
paid went to the profit of the company which built the road, 
or to the state, but a sufficient amount was used to keep the 
road in repair. In later times the road was built of heavy 
planks, and was known as a " plank " road. 

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the 
little nation was expanding rapidly, the numbers of those 
who were " going west," that is, across the Alleghanies, was 
very great. In 1802 the state of New York passed a bill 
for the building of a road from a crossing place of the Mohawk, 
now Utica, to a town a hundred miles farther west, named 
Geneva. From here it was afterward prolonged to a settle- 
ment made by a Colonel Rochester at the falls of the Genesee 
River. It was a continuation of the road already built by 
private means from Schenectady to Utica. To-day it is 
easy to trace the old Genesee road, for the cities of Utica, 
Syracuse, Auburn, Geneva, and Rochester, all have a Genesee 
Street, in most of them the principal street of the city. After 
the building of the road, wagons began to run frequently 
between Albany and Geneva. " A wagon could carry 
fourteen barrels of flour eastward, and in about a month 
could return to Geneva with a load of needed supplies. In 



TRANSPORTATION 



103 



five weeks, one winter, five hundred seventy sleighs carrying 
families passed through Geneva to lands farther west." It 
is evident that government was doing much for the people 
when it built roads for their easy passage from one end of 
the state to the other. 




A Stage Coach 



Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 



This coach is not much different from those used in an early period of our 
history and is still in use. For such vehicles transportation over the early 
roads was beset with many difficulties. 



Roads in the South. — This activity on the part of govern- 
ment in the North to provide means of transportation for 
these who wished to migrate and for their produce was 
surpassed in the South. Along Nemacolin's Path and the 
Virginia Warriors' Trail, the close of the Revolutionary War 
saw great numbers passing to the West. Need arose for 
easier passage, as in the North, and again government took a 
hand. As has been said, when the land was first settled in 



104 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Virginia the settlers found that they could go almost any- 
where from one settlement to another by boat and that they 
could even ship their tobacco from their own wharves at the 
river front ; so they did not pay much attention to roads. As 
time went on, however, the same conditions began to exist 
in Virginia as in New England and New York, and roads 
became necessary. The young man Washington was one 
of the first to go to the West and he followed Nemacolin's 
Path. When he became President, he was a very strong 
advocate of the building of roads by the national govern- 
ment. 

The Cumberland Road. — Washington did not live to see 
his ideas carried out, but it was not long after his death 
that the national government began the first national road. 
This was called the Cumberland Road. It stretched from 
Cumberland in Maryland almost straight west to the Missis- 
sippi River. This, too, followed an Indian trail. It was 
sixty feet wide, made of broken stone small enough to pass 
through a three-inch ring, then covered with gravel, and 
rolled with an iron roller. The road was a toll road with 
^' tolls for all sorts of animals and wagons." It was built 
under the supervision of army engineers and set an ex- 
ample for all the engineering projects afterward carried on 
by the government. Soon passenger coaches were rush- 
ing along the road at a rate of ten miles an hour. There 
were canvas-covered freight wagons which carried ten tons, 
'' had rear wheels ten feet high, and were drawn by twelve 
horses." With all this traffic the W^est was settled rapidly. 
This road was really the main link for many years between 
the East and what was then the West, the land beyond 
the Alleghanies, and joined them more closely together. This 
close connection kept the West from withdrawing from the 



TRANSPORTATION 105 

union of states on the Atlantic and forming a separate 
nation. 

Canals. — Rates of freight were still very high owing to the 
difficulties of transportation, and very early in our history the 
minds of our law makers were turned toward finding means 
whereby the products of the East and the West might be 
exchanged more cheaply. Our government from the very 
beginning has had the problem of transportation as one of 
its chief problems. There were many in the early history 
of our country who did not believe that government had any 
right to pay attention to such a matter, because, they said, 
the Constitution did not give permission to do such a thing. 
The building of the Cumberland Road, however, strengthened 
the argument for the government, and after a time opposi- 
tion died out. One of our great statesmen, Albert Gallatin, 
proposed a system of canals to allow ships along the Atlantic 
Ocean to take an inside course and so avoid the stormy 
winds along the coast. Washington was an advocate of a 
canal system. Where there were waterways people could 
ship their produce easily and cheaply. Traffic along the 
Mohawk River had grown so heavy that it was impossible to 
handle it, and the statesmen of New York State felt that in 
order to keep the trade from going down the St. Lawrence 
River, something must be done. 

The Erie Canal. — For many years there had been talk 
of a canal across New York State, but it remained for DeWitt 
Clinton, governor of the state, to build the canal. Many 
ridiculed the idea, and nicknamed the project " Clinton's 
Ditch " ; but he fought for his idea, since he saw the immense 
advantage it would be to the state and also to the nation. 

The first spadeful of soil was dug on July 4, 1817, at Rome, 
N. Y. The digging of the canal was a tremendous task. 



106 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



The canal " forged straight ahead where no foot but the 
silent hunter's had stepped ; its course was marked by 
forests so dark that the surveyor's stake could hardly be 
distinguished in the gloom. It was not built on the ground, 
but dug through the ground. . . . No work in America 
before its time began to compare in magnitude with grubbing 
that sixty-foot aisle of the straggling mass of roots and 




Courtesy of New York State Engineer 
A Motor Barge on the Barge Canal in New York State 
This is the most recent development in canal transportation. 

fibre, from Lake Erie to the Hudson, and the digging of a 
forty foot canal in its center." 

The canal was completed in 1825. It had taken eight 
years to build and had cost nearly eight million dollars. 
A grand fete was planned to celebrate its completion. Boats 
were made ready to carry Governor Clinton and other 
notables to New York. Among these boats was one named 
the " Noah's Ark," as it had on board two eagles, a bear, 



TRANSPORTATION 107 

some fawns, fishes, and birds, besides two Indian boys. These 
were carried to New York as products of the West. Two 
kegs of Lake Erie water were put upon one of the boats, and 
when the procession reached New York, the Governor 
solemnly poured the water from the kegs into the Atlantic, 
thus symbolizing the joining of the lakes to the ocean. 

Now the journey from New York to Buffalo became com- 
paratively easy. Five '' packet " boats were put on for the 
convenience of passengers. The boats were allowed to go 
at a speed of five miles an hour, and the fare was five cents 
a mile. It took six days to make the journey ! Freight 
rates fell to such a degree that " a man who had been selling 
his w^heat for thirty cents now received a dollar for it," yet 
the easterner could buy wheat for a much smaller price be- 
cause of the lowering of the freight rates. Population in- 
creased by leaps and bounds, and cities along the canal at 
once sprang up because of the great traffic and the great 
migration of people. At the present time the canal has 
been transformed into a barge canal at an expense of one 
hundred million dollars. It is possible now for small ships 
to sail from the western coast of the United States and 
unload at one of the lake ports. 

The building of this canal was followed by that of many 
others. For some time they were very successful and 
added much to the development of the country ; but a new 
means of transportation, which came into use shortly after 
the building of the Erie Canal, put a stop to the use of 
canals and many soon fell into decay. 

Steamboats. — During the period of canal building the 
steamboat had been coming into use on the rivers of the 
country and one, the Savannah (1819), had actually crossed 
the ocean. These steamboats, with the canals and the im- 



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COMMUNITY CIVICS 






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TRANSPORTATION 



109 



proved roads, gave great impetus to migration to the West 
and to commerce. Steamboats were usually owned by 
private corporations, and government did not have much 
to do with them during this period except to make regula- 
tions for safety of the passengers. 

Railroads. — At about the time of the opening of the Erie 
Canal, as we have said in a previous paragraph, another 
kind of transportation was beginning to attract attention. 
This was the railroad. The railroads had a great deal of 




Courtesy of New York Central Railroad 

DeWitt Clinton 

First train on what is now a part of the New York Central lines, compared 
with a modern locomotive. 



opposition at first. People said " farmers would be ruined. 
Horses would have to be killed because they would be 
wholly useless. There would be no market for oats or hay. 
Hens would not lay eggs because of the noise. It would 
cause insanity. There would be constant fires because of 
the sparks from the engine." Yet in spite of these objections, 
and many others that would sound as silly as those which 
have been given, it was not long before several roads were 
in use. The next year after the completion of the canal, the 
legislature in Albany granted a franchise to a company to 



110 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



build a railroad from Albany to Schenectady. This was 
soon followed by many others. By the middle of the nine- 
teenth century railroads were covering a large part of the 
country east of the Mississippi. 

A great many of these railroads followed the old Indian 
trails and portages. The Boston and Albany followed the 




Courtesy of New York Central Railroad 
The Twentieth Century Limited 

Twenty-hour train between New York and Chicago, hauled by electric 
engine between New York and Harmon, a distance of thirty-two miles. ' 

Old Connecticut Path, the New York Central the Iroquois 
Trail. The Delaware and Hudson for a part of its distance 
followed the Great Carrying Place from the Hudson to Lake 
Champlain, the Maumee- Wabash Trail is followed by the 
Wabash railroad, and the Pennsylvania railroad follows 
various Indian trails and portages. 

In 1862 so great was the need of a railroad across the 
continent that in spite of the war then raging, the govern- 



TRANSPORTATION 111 

merit loaned to different companies the sum of $61,000,000 to 
build either main or branch lines. It also granted to the 
roads large tracts of land as bonuses where the railroad went 
through territory not sufficiently settled to support it until 
settlers should come. This was done to help the populating 
of the West, for the government knew it was helping the 
country when it helped the roads. 

In 1917, because of the great difficulties attending the 
transporting of troops and supplies for the use of the troops in 
Europe, the federal government took control of the railroads. 
Government officials were placed in charge and employees 
who threatened to strike were made to see that their act was 
treason to the country. Wages of railroad workers were 
raised, as were also freight and passenger rates. The rail- 
roads were given back to the owners in 1920. 

The Panama Canal. — The greatest project carried on by 
the government for the promotion of transportation is the 
Panama Canal. Like the Cumberland Road it was built 
by government engineers. Ever since Columbus discovered 
the Isthmus of Panama, sailing up the Chagres River to within 
fifteen miles of the Pacific, a waterway across the isthmus 
had been the dream of explorer and settler. In 1881 a French 
company had been formed to dig a canal across the isthmus, 
but extravagance and bad management ruined the company. 

It had long been the popular idea that the United States 
should build and operate a canal across the isthmus. As 
early as 1825 Henry Clay spoke strongly in favor of it. 
Presidents Jackson and Grant urged that it be built. Noth- 
ing was accomplished, however, until in 1899 President 
McKinley appointed a commission to select a route. The 
Panama route was chosen. Negotiations with the republic 
of Colombia having failed, the Panama Canal Zone was 



112 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




Courtesy of Panama Canal, Washington, D.C. 



Scenes on the Panama Canal 

In the upper picture, in order to get an idea of the depth of the cut, com- 
pare the size of the railroad engines with the height of the mountain on 
each side of the cut. 

In the lower picture, is the transport moving rapidly or slowly? How 
can you tell? 



TRANSPORTATION 113 

finally bought by President Roosevelt from the Republic of 
Panama, which had seceded from Colombia. 

The first thing done was the cleaning up of the Zone. 
One of the officials of the Zone said the reason the French 
had failed was " because they didn't know a mosquito from a 
bumblebee " — meaning that the French did not know that 
the mosquito was the deadly carrier of disease. After the 
Canal Zone was cleaned up the actual digging of the canal was 
begun and it was finished in 1915. An easy route to Europe 
and the eastern ports of the United States is now given to 
commerce from the western coast, transportation to South 
America is cheapened, and our fleets on the Pacific are put 
in closer touch with those on the Atlantic. 

Modern transportation. — Following the railroad era came 
the age of electricity and gasoline. If you live in a large 
city you are familiar with the electric railroad that roars 
above you, with the electric cars that flash by you in the 
street, and with the subway that rumbles beneath you. 
Petrol or gasoline has made possible the small, powerful 
engine such as we find in the automobile and the airplane. 
Automobiles and auto trucks are taking the place of horses. 
The airplane will undoubtedly become still more useful, since 
war has demonstrated some of its uses in times of peace. 
In many places electric engines are taking the place of steam 
engines in the hauling of trains. The interurban lines of 
trolleys are bringing all parts of the land into closer touch. 
The farmer is able more readily to ship his goods, gets better 
prices for them, and so becomes more prosperous. 

Government and transportation. — From what you have 
read about transportation it must be very clear to you that 
from the beginning of our history, government has been of 
great assistance in the carrying of goods from one place to 



114 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



another. The carrying of goods to and fro and the trans- 
portation of the people as they go about their business are 
large factors in our industrial life. The problem of transporta- 
tion touches every one. When we realize that ninety-five per 
cent of all the raw materials raised on the farms and taken 
from the mines, and at least an equal proportion of the 
finished product of the manufacturer has to be carried over 




Courtesy of RutherfoTd Hayner. 
Inter-City Transportation 

This bus carries passengers between two neighboring cities, making 
stops at the small communities on the way. What advantages are there 
in such a method of transportation ? 

a road of some kind before it is used, the great importance 
of roads is evident. We can see that all forms of govern- 
ment, local, state, and national, must look after transporta- 
tion. It may be well at this point to note what part each 
of these three forms of government takes in this work. 

Local government and transportation. — The local govern- 
ment of each unit, — village, town, or county, — looks after 
the building of the roads in its vicinity. This is done in various 



TRANSPORTATION 115 

ways in different states. In some states it is the custom 
for every man in the community to be taxed for this purpose. 
He may " work out '' his tax by giving a certain number 
of hours of actual work on the roads in his neighborhood, or 
he may pay the money into the local treasury and it will be 
spent for the purpose. The result of such haphazard work 
is poor roads. The average man knows nothing about the 
scientific building of a road, and it is not long before there 
are ruts and holes and a bad piece of road, which makes 
transportation difficult. 

In some states, New York and Massachusetts, for instance, 
the state builds the roads, at least the main roads. The 
town, county, and state pay for their maintenance by a tax 
usually levied in the proportion of 10, 30, and 60. In New 
York the local superintendent of roads hires men who patrol 
them, mend them when necessary, take care of the smaller 
bridges, and in general keep the thoroughfares in as good 
condition as possible. Local units, usually the county, 
build the bridges that are necessary, though the cost is some- 
times shared by a city which may be part of one of the 
counties. As a result of such systematic road building 
in prosperous sections of the country, when you go out in 
your automobile a long stretch of good roads is at your 
service. If you live on a farm near a village or city, the 
problem of getting heavy loads to market is solved. The 
rural mail carrier comes regularly, and though you live many 
miles from town, the distance has been shortened by the 
fact that you have good roads near you. 

The state and transportation. — All methods of transporta- 
tion in the state are controlled to a greater or lesser degree 
by the state. The roads are laid out by the state engineer 
and their building is under his care. The state passes laws 



116 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



for the safety of the road, regulates the speed of automobiles 
(sometimes this is done by the local authorities), specifies the 
manner of lighting cars and other vehicles at night, and in 
short looks out for the safety of the citizens. The state 
grants franchises to railroads and other transportation com- 




Courtesy of New York State Engineer 
A Bridge of Modern Construction 
Decide from the picture in which direction the river is flowing. 

panics to do business and keeps control of them in many 
states through a Public Service Commission (see Chapter 
XIX). Such a commission requires the railroads to report 
to it all accidents on their lines, it grants permission to 
*' jitneys" and auto-bus lines to do business, and it estab- 
lishes freight and passenger rates within the state. 

The rapidly increasing number of automobiles forced 



TRANSPORTATION 



117 



the states to establish some sort of control of them. For 
this reason the state requires that their owners register them 
with one of the state departments. It also licenses the 
chauffem-s. This is done for a double purpose, — to secure 
the income that such licenses bring the state, and to hold 
accountable those who may be responsible for accidents. 
Where the state has a state constabulary the members 
watch the roads and attempt to prevent the "^ joy riding " 
which is the cause of so many accidents. 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
A Safe Railroad Crossing 

Note where the road originally came down to cross the tracks and the 
dangei'ous curve beyond the bridge. 



The states have charge of the canals within their bound- 
aries, except that the national government may take 
charge of them in time of war as it did of the barge canal in 
New York. There is usually a state engineer whose busi- 
ness it is to see that these waterways are kept in good re- 
pair and to make plans for their construction and operation 
when necessary. 

The national government and transportation. — No 
part of our national life is looked after more carefully 



118 , COMMUNITY CIVICS 

by the national government than transportation. The 
Department of Agriculture (see Chapter XXI) maintains a 
Bureau of Public Roads for the purpose of giving information 
concerning the public roads of the states and the laws which 
govern them, and is ready to give expert advice to any section 
of the country concerning building and maintenance of roads. 
The work of the post-office in its rural delivery of mail 
will be considered in another chapter. (See Chapter VIII.) 

The national government has established a commission 
known as the Interstate Commerce Commission, which 
supervises the commerce between the states. *' This was 
intended to relieve the public of some of the evils that had 
grown up in connection with the great railroad systems." 
This body of men is five in number and is appointed by the 
President. It sees that the rates charged by the railroads are 
reasonable and that there is no unfair discrimination be- 
tween persons, corporations, and localities, and all connecting 
lines. Some of the great evils connected with transporta- 
tion have been lessened by this commission. 

As previously stated the government controls the Panama 
Canal. In addition to building it, the government has 
appointed the proper officials for the control of the Canal 
Zone and for the collection of tolls from the ships which 
pass through the canal. It has fortified the canal, and the 
soldiers stationed there are under the control of the War 
Department (see Chapter XXI), as are the other soldiers of 
the nation. It may also take charge of the elections of 
the Republic of Panama, as was done in 1918, so that an 
honest election may be had and there may be no danger 
to the canal. The government also controls the Sault Ste. 
Marie Canal, which connects the Great Lakes. So great 
is the amount of goods transported through this canal 



TRANSPORTATION 119 

that the annual tolls are greater than those of the Suez 
Canal. 

The national waterways, the inland lakes, and the ocean 
within the three-mile limit are all under the control of the 
national government. Some states have departments which 
share this control. Under the direction of the Department 
of Commerce (see Chapter XXI), the surveys of the coast 
are made, rocks and shoals are charted, and lighthouses 
are placed, in order that travel may be as safe as possible. 

Perhaps you live near the ocean or an inland lake where 
the lighthouses flash out their warning signals. The gov- 
ernment maintains a special service for the care of these 
signal stations. Life-saving stations are also maintained 
along the coasts. 

One of the most valuable of the bureaus of the government 
serves to protect perishable goods in transit from one part 
of the country to the other. This is the Weather Bureau. 
Its work is to send out warnings of dangerous storms or of 
sudden changes in temperature which would endanger ship- 
ments either by boat or by railroad. Warnings are sent to 
shipping when it is not safe to put to sea, and those who 
live near rivers are warned when there is danger of floods. 

Our share in transportation. — Those of us who live in 
cities have very definite duties, as good citizens, in connec- 
tion with the work of transportation. This is to make our- 
selves responsible for the city streets and for our actions in 
them. We should take care in playing in the streets. Re- 
member that they are first for transportation and then to 
play in if there is any room. No matter how careful a driver 
is he cannot avoid accidents if boys and girls are careless in 
running in front of the vehicles. In this country we arrest 
the driver if he hurts any one. In France the one who is 



120 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 





Coiiriesy of Institute of A7nerica 
"No matter how careful a driver may be, he cannot avoid accidents if 
boys and girls are careless in running in front of vehicles." 



TRANSPORTATION 121 

arrested is the one who suffers the accident. It is taken 
as a matter of course that the driver has the first right in the 
street and that those who walk in the street should look and 
see where they are going. It might be a good thing if there 
were such a law in this country, for in a great majority of 
accidents in the streets the one hurt is the one to blame and 
the accident has been caused by his carelessness. 

Again, the same care should be taken in the country and on 
country roads and in crossing the railroad tracks. ^' Stop, 
Look, and Listen " is a good motto for those who are about 
to cross a railroad track. Remember that the train has the 
right of way and that it cannot stop as quickly as you can. 

Study carefully what good roads mean to a community, 
and when you come to voting age you will understand more 
clearly what it means to help in the fight for good roads, 
clean streets, and '' Safety First." 



Questions for Investigation 

1 . What Indian trails were near your community ? Were there any 
portages? Name some towns which sprang from portages. 

2. What were the reasons of the national government for taking over 
the raihoads during the war against Germany ? 

3. What does your community do to aid transportation? 

4. Why are canals built, when railroads transport goods so much 
more quickly? 

5. What may a community demand from a street car system ? 

6. Who has control over the building and repair of roads in your 
community ? How are such expenses met ? 

7. What laws has the state or the community or both passed to 
make transportation safe for the person in the street or on the road ? 

8. Does your state require an automobile license? How is it ob- 
tained ? Why do you have to have one ? 

9. Find out what you can about the losses of goods because of poor 
facilities for transportation. 



122 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

10. What department of the national government has charge of 
transportation ? Make a summary of the duties of the official in charge 
of this department. 

11. Why are good roads a benefit to the farmer ? Do you think it a 
good policy for the state to build roads to the more remote parts of 
the state ? Why ? 

12. Make a list of the different means of transportation used in 
your locality. 

13. Make a report to the class on the methods of securing safety to 
people and goods on the railroads, 

14. Make a report to the class on the Panama Canal, touching on 
(a) its locks, (6) how the Canal Zone is governed, (c) rules for safety 
of travel through the canal, (d) how the Zone was cleaned up. 

15. Make a report to the class on the Lincoln Highway. 

16. Make a list of the different kinds of pavement in your com- 
munity. Which gives the best service to transportation? Which 
gives the best service in proportion to its cost ? 

17. What are the duties of a "traffic manager" of a corporation or a 
community ? Do you think this would be a good profession to follow ? 
Why? 



CHAPTER VIII 
COMMUNICATION 

One day as the little boy and girl of whom we have read 
were playing about the river bank (see Chapter I), they saw, 
away in the distance, the smoke from a fire rising from the 
top of the distant hills. It rose straight up for a while, then 
stopped and again ascended, then stopped again, and then a 
greater volume rose up above the tree-tops. " What makes 
the smoke act so funny ?" asked the little girl of her brother. 
" Indians are signaling," answered the boy. 

Another day as they had wandered along the trail leading 
toward the east from their home, the boy noticed some 
sticks placed in a peculiar fashion alongside the trail. A 
bit farther on he noticed a little heap of stones and still 
farther, some notches on a tree. That night as the family 
was sitting about the fireplace, the boy asked his father 
the meaning of these things he had seen. He was told that 
they were placed there by the Indians and were their way of 
showing direction and also who had passed that way. The 
father told them of the Indian picture writing on bark or 
skins, illustrating it by the following story. 

A white man in the Indian country saw an Indian riding a 
horse which he recognized as his own. A quarrel arose and 
the Indian said, " Friend, after a while I will call at your 
house, when we shall talk of the matter." When he came 
the two again quarreled. The white man again renewed 

123 



124 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

his demand for the horse. The Indian immediately took a 
coal from the fireplace and made two pictures on the door 
of the house-, the one representing the white man taking the 
horse, and the other, himself, in the act of scalping him ; then 
he coolly asked the trembling claimant, " Can you read the 
Indian writing ? " The white man could, and the Indian 
rode away on the horse. 

One day the father ferried over the river a stranger who 
said, '' I have a letter here for your boy. It is from a boy 
with whom he used to play when you were in Boston. I left 
Boston some months ago, but I presume it will be welcome 
just the same." Indeed it was. This was the first letter 
he had ever received, and one of the very few ever re- 
ceived by the family. Few older people in those days re- 
ceived any communications from the outside world, to say 
nothing of children receiving such a message, so this was a 
red-letter day in the pioneer family. After it had been read 
and re-read it was put away as one of the choice treasures 
of the family. 

Communication in colonial times. — In colonial times 
whatever mail there was, was carried by private persons, 
sometimes, as in the case of the traveler, as a favor, but 
more often as a matter of business. There was no organized 
effort by the government to look after the carrying of letters 
and packages, but this was done by private individuals. 
Such persons charged from eight to twenty-five cents for 
carrying mail, — the price depending on the length of the 
journey and the size of the package. The cost was paid by 
the one who received it. Mails were irregular and infre- 
quent. They were carried by post-riders, who followed the 
roads as far as they extended and then the narrow Indian 
trails through the woods. They left the city when they 



COMMUNICATION 125 

had collected enough mail to make a full bag. Not until 
1753 was an official appointed by the English Parliament to 
have charge of the mails in the colonies. This first Post- 
master-General was Benjamin Franklin, who served about 
twenty years. The amount of mail carried in a year 
throughout the colonies would not be nearly as much as 
comes into New York City in one day at the present time. 

Newspapers were few and were not carried in the mails, 
but by private arrangement. When the Re volutionary War 
began there were in all thirty-seven newspapers printed in 
the colonies, and all their subscribers together did not num- 
ber more than five thousand. 

Beginnings of modern communication. — As time went on 
and good roads were built, as the steamboat came into use, 
and as the railroads began to link the country together, 
methods of communication were improved. It was no longer 
such a wonderful thing to receive a letter or a newspaper. 
About the middle of the nineteenth century (1845) postage 
stamps began to be used, and a little later the rate of letter 
postage was set at three cents an ounce. This has changed 
from three to two cents, back again to three, and again 
dropped to two, as the needs of the Post-Office Department 
have varied. 

The Post-OfRce Department. — The Post-Office Depart- 
ment has become one of the largest in our government. The 
Postmaster-General is appointed by the President and is a 
member of his cabinet. He has control of all matter that is 
sent through the mails, whether letters, papers, or packages. 
Such absolute control has he that he may bar certain matter 
from going by post. Sometimes newspapers are forbidden 
to use the mail because of improper matter printed in them. 
The Postmaster-General appoints many postmasters, has 



126 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




Courtesy of H. P. Cheney 

A Government Official 

What are his duties? What service 
does he render to you? What are the 
duties of that department of government 
which he represents? 



charge of the postmen, 
and attends to the rural 
free delivery, the parcel 
post, the sending of 
money orders, and the 
postal savings banks. 

The rural free delivery 
and the parcel post have 
been of great benefit to 
the agricultural sections 
of the country. They 
have brought the farmer 
in closer touch with af- 
fairs of the government, 
made possible the ship- 
ping of farm products 
direct to the consumer, 
and helped in the fight 
for good roads. To-day 
the farmer living in a 
remote district may get 
his daily paper and his 
mail as does the city 
dweller, or may order his 
goods from the city store 
and have them sent. the 
same day by parcel post. 
Country life has been 
made more attractive 
and farm values have 
increased. 

The postal savings 



COMMUNICATION 127 

banks have made it possible to put into circulation large 
sums of money formerly hoarded. Sometimes people were 
afraid of the banks, sometimes they had no banking facilities 
near at hand. But every town has a post office, and con- 
fidence in a government institution is in the minds of many 
much greater than in a private institution. A small rate of 
interest is paid, and amounts as small as a dollar may be 
deposited. 

Among other activities of this department of government 
is the money order system, by which money may be sent 
from one place to another or abroad. For a small fee 
a letter or parcel may be delivered immediately on its 
arrival and articles may be insured to the amount of fifty 
dollars, and if the article is lost the government settles for it. 

Curiosities of the post office. — Many curious things go 
through the mails. Sometimes live animals are sent by 
parcel post, and a case is on record of a baby being shipped 
by this method. Mr. Haskins in his book on American 
government tells of the following curious things sent by post. 
In one box was a rattlesnake, accompanied by a card on 
which was written, " I hope this puts an end to you." In one 
post office the employees were driven from the building by a 
swarm of bees which escaped from their container. In 
another, the building was just as rapidly cleared when a 
package of skunk skins was placed on the radiator. 

The most curious post office is on the Galapagos Islands. 
It is a barrel in which letters are placed. As all mariners 
know of this post office, they are on the lookout for it when 
near the islands and take out the mail it contains and forward 
it to their nearest post. 

The telegraph. — About the same time that the post- 
age stamp came into use, an invention was made which 



128 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

revolutionized communication. This was the telegraph. We 
should not know what to do without it to-day, and it is hard 
to realize that such a convenience has not always been in use. 
You learned when you studied history that the telegraph 
was the invention of Samuel F. B. Morse, who adapted an 
earlier machine of Joseph Henry. He asked Congress for 
an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars to establish an 
experimental line from Baltimore to Washington. There 
was much opposition among the law makers to granting 
it. Indeed, to many of them the invention was a joke, and 
one Congressman even moved that the appropriation should 
be used to construct a railway to the moon, as he thought 
this would be as sensible as the telegraph. Another member 
of Congress actually lost his next election because he had 
voted for the appropriation. But it was made, and the 
telegraph was so successful that it was not long before lines 
were crossing the country east of the Mississippi in all 
directions. 

West of the Mississippi telegraph lines developed much 
more slowly than in the East. For some years preceding the 
war between the states, communication through the West 
was carried on by the pony express riders, those picturesque 
characters who raced across the plains on their relays of 
horses, braving the dangers from Indians, outlaws, storms, 
raging streams, and accidents. In 1861, with the help of 
an appropriation from Congress, which now saw the value 
of the telegraph, the first line across the mountains to the 
coast was finished. Not many years afterward all parts of 
the West were in communication with one another. 

The cable. — Communication with Europe was slow and 
unsatisfactory until the end of the Civil War. In 1866, 
Cyrus W. Field laid the first successful cable between this 



COMMUNICATION 



129 




130 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

country and England. He encountered many difficulties, 
but finally overcame them all. People thought he was as 
crazy and foolish as the Congressmen who were asked to 
appropriate money for the telegraph had considered Morse. 
To-day cables span the globe and messages may be sent 
around the world. 

The telephone. — In 1876 there was added the third of our 
great means of communication with one another, the tele- 
phone. Peculiarly enough, this was the invention of two 
men working separately, Elisha Gray of Chicago and Alex- 
ander Bell of Boston, both of whom applied for a patent at 
almost the same hour of the same day. 

By the invention of the telegraph and the telephone, 
homes, villages, and cities, states and nations are placed in 
closer communication with one another than were the little 
boy and girl of our first chapter with their nearest neighbor. 
By the cable the news of foreign events reaches us shortly 
after they occur ; by the telephone we may talk with our 
friends though far separated, call the doctor when we are 
ill, or summon the police or the firemen if our home is in 
danger. We are so accustomed to the use of these con- 
veniences that they have come to be necessities. 

Wireless. — During a very recent period a new kind of 
telegraph and telephone has come into use, which we know 
as the " wireless." Through a series of inventions by dif- 
ferent men, messages are no longer carried from place to 
place by wires, but through the air. This is of great im- 
portance to ships, so much so that the national government 
has passed laws which compel all ships to install a wireless 
outfit so that if they are in danger they may summon help. 

Communication in war. — The war with Germany brought 
out many new uses for wireless and many unique methods 



COMMUNICATION 



131 




Pi 
d 

'■+3 

> 






a 
o 

ft 

0) 

H 



132 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



of communication. Communication was often established 
between those under fire and the rear by means of dogs and 
carrier pigeons. These animals often got through when wire- 
less and other methods of communication failed ; indeed so 
brave were some of the dogs and pigeons that they received 
the war cross. Communication under fire was kept up by 




Courtesy of the Navy Department 
Radio Students, Naval Tbaining Station, Great Lakes, Illinois 

telephones, whose wires were laid under great difficulties and 
danger. The airplane wirelessed the positions of the German 
machine guns and heavy artillery to our artillery, our com- 
manders learned of the positions of their troops, and cities 
were warned of enemy, air raids. By the use of the 
wireless telephone, perfected during the war and closely 
guarded by the Allies, airplanes thousands of feet in the 
air received their commands from their officers stationed 



COMMUNICATION 



133 



on the ground, or made reports of their observations from 
their lofty stations. 

The new telephone . — Not long since the Scientific American 
published an article on the improvements in the wireless tele- 




United States Official Photograph 
Sending Communications 

The soldiers are using gas equipment while receiving instructions from an 
observer some distance away. 

phone and on the improvements which have made possible the 
" loud-speaking telephone." The magazine said, "During the 
Victory Loan ceremonies, the loud-speaking telephone has 
made it possible for a speaker to address a crowd of tens of 
thousands of persons extending for more than a quarter of a 
mile from the speaker's platform, despite all noises. Again 



134 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

public speeches have been transmitted by means of the wire- 
less telephone through many miles of space to an expectant 
audience. Finally it is possible for any one to deliver a 
speech from his drawing-room in New York to 50,000 persons 
in Chicago." During the Victory Loan, *' for the purpose 
of receiving speeches from air ships and airplanes, Victory 
•Way (a part of Park Avenue, New York) was spanned by 
a huge aerial." By means of this and the loud-speaking 
telephones it was possible for the people in the street to 
hear messages from far aloft in the heavens. 

Censorship. — During the war against Germany you may 
have received a letter from a brother or your father in France. 
On the envelope you may have noticed the words stamped 
in one corner and signed by a name or initials, '' Passed by 
the censor." That meant that some one in authority had 
read the letter before it came to you and perhaps had cut 
out parts of it to make sure that nothing had been written 
which might give information to the enemy, even though 
this was not intended. Here we find the government keeping 
such close watch of our affairs that even our private 
mail is opened and read. If you read the newspapers you 
often saw the words '' Somewhere in France," " Deleted 
(cut out) by the Censor," " A Port in America." All these 
phrases showed that the censor was at work here also. Al- 
though the Constitution of the United States says, " Con- 
gress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or 
of the press," yet in times of great danger it may do both. 
During the war some seditious and disloyal papers were 
stopped from further publication and their issues con- 
fiscated. The Constitution gives us freedom of communica- 
tion, but it does not mean that there can be so much freedom 
that harm may come from it. 



COMMUNICATION 135 

Such extreme cases of government control of communica- 
tion are not common. Usually people may write and speak 
what they choose. They are liable under the law, however, 
if they publish things about people that are not true. This 
applies to corporations as well as to individuals. 

Government and communication. — Many new problems 
have arisen for government to solve since the means of com- 




Courtesv of Curtiss Airplane Co. 

Airplanes in Flight 

Photographed from another machine. Mail was recently carried by air- 
plane from Alaska to the Atlantic Coast. 

munication have become so common. During the Great 
War the Postmaster-General took complete control of all 
the telegraph, telephone, and cable lines. This was in order 
to help win the war by making the censorship more sure. 
After the war closed the lines were given back to their 
original owners. 

Many states, either through a commission or a state 
official, exercise control over the lines of communication 



136 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

within their borders. For example, New York State has 
the Public Service Commission which, among its other 
duties, has the power to regulate the telegraph and telephone 
lines within the borders of the state. It regulates rates 
and asks for reports of the financial condition of the com- 
panies that do business in the state. 

Your local community has some control of these com- 
panies also. The law-making body must first grant them 
permission to conduct their business (see Chapter XVI). 
The poles upon which the wires are strung are unsightly, and 
some communities make the corporations put the wires under- 
ground. If the poles are erected permission must sometimes 
be secured from the property owner. If the employees of the 
company cut or disfigure trees while stringing the wires, the 
company may be held liable for the damage done. 

The good citizen and communication. — As a good citizen 
you will see to it that the letters and packages you send are 
carefully addressed so that they will not go to the '* Dead 
Letter " department of the post office. Thousands and 
thousands of letters were never received by our brave soldiers 
in France, to whom a word from home meant a great deal, 
because the senders were careless about writing the address 
plainly. 

When you use the telephone, remember the thousands of 
people who use it every day and think what a demand is 
made upon the patience of those in the telephone office who 
handle the calls. 

Read the newspapers every day, so that you may know 
what is going on in the world about you. Let them help you 
to form your opinions about the problems which government 
has to solve, for it is from this source that we get some of our 
best ideas. J)o not confine yourself to one newspaper and its 



COMMUNICATION 137 

opinions, but read several, and then form your own conclu- 
sions. Read the papers that are noted for being truthful 
and that present a fair picture of events and not a biased 
one. Suspend judgment for a while until you can form a 
true decision. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. What are the present Hmits of "wireless " ? 

2. What are the benefits of the telephone in a rural community? 
In a city ? 

3. By what different means did the government keep in touch with 
its armies in Europe ? 

4. Show how business enterprises depend on communication. 

5. What is meant by a post road ? Where is the post road nearest 
your home ? 

6. How was the use of "wireless" restricted dm*ing the war with 
Germany ? 

7. Make a report to the class of some of the peculiar means of com- 
munication used in the war with Germany. Compare these with the 
means used during the war between the states. 

8. What are some of the things that you, as a good citizen, may do 
to help communication ? 

9. What is the name of the present Postmaster-General ? Make a 
summary of his duties. 

10. Write a composition on one of the following subjects: "The 
Airplane as a Means of Communication," "The Wireless Tele- 
graph," "The Wireless Telephone." 

11. Make a report to the class on some of the things you have learned 
from your postage-stamp collection. 



CHAPTER IX 
MIGRATION 

The story of Pietro. — Pietro was playing with his brothers 
and sisters about their home in a little village in Sicily. 
Suddenly one of his sisters shouted, '* Here comes Angelo," 
and there appeared a boy of thirteen or fourteen years 
dressed after the fashion of all American boys. He looked 
very different from the children about him. His clothing 
was different, he had a different air, and he seemed scornful 
of the town and its inhabitants. With him was his father, 
dressed, too, in American clothes, and carrying with him 
an air of prosperity possessed by no one else in the village. 
After they had passed Pietro remarked, " Look at them. 
They are rich. They have just come from America. Angelo 
says he goes to school and earns money by selling papers. 
He says they have something they call a bath tub in their 
house, and he takes a bath every day. Why should he do 
that ? He says he isn't a ' ginnie ' like us ; he is an American 
citizen because his father is. Fm going to be an American 
and get rich and wear good clothes like Angelo." As he 
talked he saw his father coming down the street on his way 
home from work. He noticed a great difference between his 
father and Angelo' s. Secretly he was a little ashamed when 
he compared the two men as they stopped to chat for a few 
moments. 

That evening as Pietro was eating his supper he said 
to his father, " Why don't we go to America and get rich ? 

138 



MIGRATION 130 

Look at Angelo and his father." "Be still, Pietro," 
growled his father, '* do not talk foolishly." But neverthe- 
less when Pietro had gone to bed and was supposed to be 
asleep, he heard his father and mother talking about America, 
that wonderful land where money was to be gained so easily. 
So it was every night, Pietro fell asleep listening to the 
arguments going back and forth in the other room. Some- 
times the father of Angelo would come in, and then there 
would be no sleep for listening to the wonderful stories of 
the land across the ocean. He heard that people earned as 
much there in a week as his father did in a month. If one 
were saving of what he earned, land could be bought, as much 
as ten acres; or if one were very rich, why, twenty acres, 
and for a small sum, too. Such talk seemed to Pietro's father 
like fairy stories until one night Angelo's father pulled from 
his pocket a deed to land, which showed that he owned twenty 
acres of land. ''And you left here poor, didn't you?" 
" Yes, I was poorer than you are and had to borrow money to 
pay my passage, while you have enough to pay for all the 
family." 

So it went on, until one Sunday as the family was coming 
from mass, Pietro's father said, '' We are going to America. 
The good priest has said the stories of Angelo's father are 
true and not lies as I had thought. He says there are many 
chances for a good man in America." Great was the joy 
of the children, but Pietro saw the tears slowly roll down 
his mother's cheeks. He could not understand why, for 
he was not old enough to understand what it meant 
for older people to give up home and country and go into 
a strange land to try their fortunes anew. Preparations 
were soon made, good-bys were said, and the journey was 
begun. 



140 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

All was new to Pietro. First there was the ride on the 
steam cars to the port where they were going to embark. 
Then they came to the wonderful boat, huge beyond all 
Pietro 's dreams. Though the steerage would not seem a 
beautiful place to us, but quite the contrary, yet to Pietro 
it was a fine place. Here were several hundred others who 
were going to make trial of the new land, too, and of course 
there were many boys and girls who were going with their 
parents. They could not all speak the same language, but 
the common language of all boys and girls soon made them 
friends. Such exciting times as they had ! There was 
something new almost every minute, and Pietro began to 
feel that he wished the journey would last forever. The 
ocean was smooth and he was spared sickness, so he did not 
miss a day on deck, and was so continually asking questions 
that he received the nickname of the " American Question 
Mark." 

One morning Pietro woke up to find that the boat was at 
anchor. Hurriedly dressing, he rushed up on deck, and there 
was the wonderful America, more wonderful in realization 
than in dreams. He had never imagined such a sight. Not 
far away he saw a gigantic statue of a woman holding aloft 
in her hand a torch. A man near him, in answer to his 
questions, said, '' Little American Question Mark, that is a 
statue of Liberty giving light to the whole world. It means 
that America is the country where a person has the right to 
do as he pleases so long as he does not harm any one else. 
America, too, teaches this sort of liberty to all the world." 
Far away, Pietro saw the tall towers of New York looking 
like some towers of the fairy land he had read about in his 
own country, Italy. He could not believe that people 
really lived in them. 



MIGRATION 



141 



Before long the ship began to move again, and the man 
who had told him about the Goddess of Liberty said that 
all ships which come to New York are obliged to stop at 
" Quarantine," as the place is called. This is done that men 
appointed by the government may learn whether there is 
among the passengers any dangerous disease which might 




Courtesy of the War Department 
The Statue of Liberty from an Airplane 

be brought into the country and so do harm. When it is 
found out that there is none, the officials permit the ship 
to go on its way into the harbor. 

Now the ship's officers began to get ready for the landing 
of those who were coming to the country for the first time, 
and it was not long before the boat stopped in front of a 



142 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

large building with four high towers. Pietro afterward 
learned that this was an island in New York harbor, Ellis 
Island, where all immigrants are landed, to make sure that 
they may rightfully enter the country. Into a big room 
fenced off into pens, something like the cattle pens that 
Pietro had seen in his own country, the newcomers went. 
Here they were examined carefully to see if they had any 
disease which might render them incapable of self-support or 
which might be communicated to others. They were ques- 
tioned as to many things, but Pietro's father and mother 
answered all the questions satisfactorily. While the others 
were being questioned Pietro, you may be sure, was looking 
about him. The thing which impressed him most was the 
huge flag which hung at one end of the room where they 
were examined. It had stripes of red and white and in 
one corner was a blue field dotted with stars. " That must 
be my flag, I think," he said to himself. '' When I am an 
American I must reverence the American flag." 

While the man was so carefully examining his father and 
mother, his brothers and sisters, Pietro began to be afraid 
that he was not going to be admitted to this country, 
especially as he saw one of his playmates on the boat crying 
bitterly. When he asked why, he found that the boy could 
not land because he was ill with a contagious disease, and 
he and his parents must go back to the land from which 
they came. 

After Pietro had been in this country for a time and had 
been in school, he learned that certain classes of people are 
not admitted to the United States at all — those who have 
no money, those who have a contagious disease, the insane, 
criminals, and those of bad character. The reason for this is 
that the government wants people who come here to become 



MIGRATION 143 

good citizens, and those who have been mentioned would 
probably not become such. If the steamship company does 
bring such people to this country, the law compels it 
to take them back free of charge, and the company is also 
compelled to pay a fine. But the members of Pietro's 
family were all sturdy and healthy and had saved enough 
money so that there was no danger of their becoming a public 
charge. Luckily Pietro's father had arranged that a friend 
who had come to America several years before should meet 
them when they had passed their examination ; and when 
they had made their way out of the great room and had 
been really admitted to the country of their hopes, this 
friend was waiting for them. He took them to his home 
on the East Side of New York, where many others from 
their country had preceded them. 

All was so noisy and so strange ! Cars ran on tracks over- 
head, cars plunged beneath the surface of the earth, cars 
clanged their way through the middle of the streets. It was 
all so bewildering and so different from the quiet little town 
from which Pietro came. But it was not long before he 
became accustomed to it and had much more fun than he 
had had in his own country. The father and mother missed 
the grass and trees of their home land, but always before 
them was that farm of " maybe ten acres " which they were 
going to have when they had saved the money. 

Then came school. Wonderful stories, which the boy had 
held to be lies, had his playmate told him of the schools, 
but he found that the half had not been told him. His 
father had a job, and things were going well for the family 
in their new surroundings. When he had been at the school 
for a time, to his great surprise he learned that he was not 
yet an American citizen. His comrades nicknamed him 



144 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

" Pete the Ginnie," and when he protested, they said, ** You 
are not an American. Your father has not been naturalized." 
Pietro thought about this for a long time and then in great 
distress of mind went to his teacher about it. ** What's 
naturalized ? " he asked. His teacher took up a book which 
was lying on her desk and read to him as follows explaining 
as she went along : '' The alien who desires to become a 
citizen must appear before a court of record at least two years 
before admission to citizenship and there declare on oath his 
intention to become a citizen and to renounce his allegiance 
to any other government. This declaration is then recorded, 
and the applicant is furnished with a copy of the record. 
Two years later the applicant for citizenship must appear 
in open court, must furnish proof that he has resided con- 
tinuously in the United States for five years, and in the state 
for one year, and that he has behaved as a man of good moral 
character. He must take an oath to support the con- 
stitution of the United States and finally renounce his 
allegiance to any foreign government. These facts are then 
recorded, and a certificate of naturalization is granted." 

" Then this means that if my father takes out the paper 
to-morrow we shall have to wait two years before I shall 
be a citizen? " Pietro asked. '^ Yes, Pietro," answered the 
teacher. " You know we have been here three years now 
and it doesn't seem as if I could wait much longer. You 
say that if my father is a citizen it makes me one ? " " Yes." 
" Well, I'll bet father won't wait much longer." 

That night Pietro could hardly wait for his father to come 
home from his work, so eager was he to tell him what he 
thought he must do. Already his father had been thinking 
about naturalization, and it took only the urging of Pietro 
to start him to take out his first papers. 



MIGRATION 145 

The time of waiting seemed long to the boy, but he went 
to school and studied hard, and by the time his father was 
ready to be naturalized you would not have known the 
family of five years before. Pietro induced both his father 
and his mother to go to night school and learn English. 
The mother learned also how to sew and to cook American 
dishes. They had changed the style of clothing which they 
wore in Italy for American clothes. The brothers and 
sisters spoke English more than they did Italian. 

By and by, the great day came. There was to be a public 
reception given to those who were to be admitted to citizen- 
ship. So important was the occasion considered that the 
President of the United States was to be there to speak to 
the new citizens. Day after day Pietro had drilled his 
father on the government of the United States, its ofiicers 
and institutions. The father had also attended a class in 
night school for the instruction of foreigners in government. 
With all this teaching Pietro felt very sure that his father 
would not fail in the questions that would be asked him. 

Dressed in their best clothes, the whole family went 
to the place where the ceremony was to be held. The hall 
was crowded, and shortly after their arrival, when they had 
settled themselves in their seats, there came several loud 
raps on the rail above the judge's desk. The audience rose, 
and the judge in his long silk gown came into the room. 
As he entered the door he stepped one side for the President 
to precede him. When the judge and the President were 
seated, the audience sat down, and amid a deep silence the 
name of the first one to be examined was read. ''It is a 
pretty solemn thing to be made a citizen of the United States," 
thought Pietro. As each name was called, the applicant 
for citizenship went forward to the judge's desk and there 



146 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

stood his examination. If he passed, he renounced his 
allegiance to the country of his birth and, with his right 
hand raised, took the following Oath of Allegiance to the 
United States. 

''It is my intention to become a citizen of the United 
States and to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance 
and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or 
sovereignty, and particularly (here follows the name of the 
ruler of the country from which the prospective citizen 
comes) of which I am now a subject, and it is my intention 
to reside permanently in the United States." 

Among those who took this oath was Pietro's father, for 
he passed his examination successfully, thanks to Pietro 
and the night school. '' Now," said Pietro to himself, '' I 
am a real American citizen." 

Causes of immigration. — The cause which brought little 
Pietro's father to America, the desire to improve his financial 
condition, is but one of several which have acted since 
American history began. Many of those who came to 
America during our early history came for this reason. 
To-day it is the chief reason. The Spaniards sought for 
wealth and in their search explored vast tracts of country. 
Those who came to Virginia were trying to better their 
condition ; so, too, were those who came to Georgia. The 
Dutch settled New York that they might have a new center 
of trade and improve their circumstances. The great Irish 
immigration in 1848 was caused by a potato famine in Ire- 
land which made people so poor that they wished to begin 
life anew in a new land. 

A second important cause of immigration is the desire to 
worship God as one chooses, or for freedom in religious 
matters. New England was settled by the Puritans who 



MIGRATION 



147 



were persecuted in England. Pennsylvania was settled 
by the Quakers for the same reason. Lord Baltimore 
founded Maryland as a refuge for persecuted Catholics. 
Since 1883 there has been a great migration of the Jewish 
people and of the Armenians, who have fled from Europe 
to escape the religious persecution they endured there. 




Immigrants at Ellis Island 



Again, people have come to America for political reasons. 
Those who have come for this reason either could not agree 
with the forms of government at home or else were attracted 
by the greater freedom enjoyed in the United States. The 
reason for the coming of the Puritans was partly political. 
Many Germans came to America about the middle of the 
nineteenth century because of political conditions in their own 



148 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

country at that time. Though not as many have come here 
for this reason as for the others, yet it is one of the most 
important causes. 

A fourth reason why people have come to the United States 
is that they might escape the military service required by 
the home country. Before the World War almost all the 
countries of Europe required a certain term of service in 
the army. Such service was so distasteful to many that 
they preferred to flee to a land where it was not required. 

The spirit of adventure has brought some to America. 
Though this is perhaps the least of the causes which has 
given us our immigrant population, yet from the time of the 
great adventurer, John Smith, until to-day, these adven- 
turers have added some to our numbers. 

Results of immigration. — The great tide of immigrants 
which has poured into our country has made it what it is, 
but it has also given to our government some of the hardest 
problems it has to solve. The congestion of the large cities 
is due in great part to those from foreign countries. It is 
very natural, as you have seen in the case of Pietro's family 
(see p. 143), for those who speak the same language to be 
together. Quite naturally, too, they keep the customs and 
habits of the mother country. This leads to the second 
of the difficulties which have arisen, that of making citizens 
quickly out of the newcomers. 

Not all foreigners are as anxious as Pietro was to become 
citizens. They do not learn English readily, some never 
learn it, nor is it necessary, as the children learn to speak 
English and are able to translate for the help of the older 
ones in the family. Because they do not speak English 
many do not care to become citizens. For this reason, 
too, it is not easy for the foreigners to understand the ad- 



MIGRATION 



149 



vantages of the new country and the advantages of becom- 
ing citizens. 

Sometimes, too, foreigners, as well as those who are born 
in this country, misunderstand the meaning of the word 
" liberty/' Liberty does not mean permission to do as one 




Lower New York 
The immigrants' new home as seen from an airplane. 



Courtesy of War DepaTtment 



chooses, but only permission to do the way one chooses in so 
far as it does not interfere with the rights of others. This 
seems difficult for many newcomers to learn, and because 
they are deprived of certain privileges, they think the gov- 
ernment is in the wrong and so refuse to become citizens. 

The transporting of so many people to a country in a short 
space of time, over one million in 1907, and their ignorance of 



150 COMMUNITY CTVrCS 

what they are to meet and of what their surroundings are 
to be, leads to many difficulties. It may be the custom in 
the home country to keep chickens, pigs, and cows in the 
home with the family, but it is not so here. Such a dif- 
ference in living is not always understood. So the foreigner 
is always coming into conflict with American laws, and be- 
cause they are not understood, he feels that he is persecuted 
and that our laws are harsh and unfair. 

Education is the solution of the problem (see Chapter III). 
Just as Pietro urged his people to go to night school to learn 
English and English customs, so to-day thousands of for- 
eigners go to the evening schools and there learn the first 
principles of Americanization. 

Migration. — In the first chapter of the book we learned 
that a community was founded by the coming of people 
already in America to a new place, where they settled. In 
the story of Pietro we learned that there is a great movement 
of the people of different nations to America. These two 
kinds of movements of people from one place to another in 
the same country, and from one country to another, are 
going on all the time. The cause common to both these 
movements is the desire for the betterment of one's 
condition. These people wished for more than they could 
get in the place from which they came, and they migrated. 

Perhaps you are a part of such a migration. Have you 
ever changed your home from city to country or country to 
city ? If so, why ? Probably so that those of your family who 
are older might have better advantages for making a living, or 
so that there might be a better chance for an education. In 
our early history there was a great migration to the west- 
ward. Land was cheap there, and the roads to the west 
were crowded with people making a change in their living 



MIGRATION 151 

conditions. From 1849 to 1860 the trails to California were 
crowded with people going to the gold-fields. Some found 
the gold, but many others found something which was better, 
land. Here they settled. 

During recent years there has been a great movement 
from the country to the cities. The bright lights of the 
cities have attracted many boys and girls away from the 
farms. This is one of the reasons why the cities have be- 
come so crowded and why there are so many abandoned 
farms. The person who is thinking about giving up country 
life for city life should study the matter very carefully before 
making the change. During the past few years there has 
been a slight movement the other way. Many, like Pietro's 
father, wish to get the " twenty acres," and have gone from 
the city to the country. Here they find good health, the 
bright sky, the singing birds, and if one knows how, as do so 
many of those who come to America, a much better living 
than in the city. 

Government and migration. — All these great movements 
of people are controlled by government of some sort or 
other. First of all, the national government says who shall 
not come into the country. It establishes a quarantine 
station (see p. 141), so that those who do come may not bring 
disease into the country. It establishes the laws by which 
the newcomers are made citizens. (See Chapter XVIII.) 
When an immigrant takes out his first papers, the national 
government sends him a letter and also one to the school 
authorities of the city in which he lives, so that he may go 
to school. Societies have been formed by government per- 
mission to look after the immigrants and to help them. 
The North American Civic League for Immigrants and the 
Traveller's Aid Society are two of them. The states of 



152 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

New York and Massachusetts have Immigration Bureaus 
as parts of the machinery of the state government. The 
United States has a Bureau of Information for the purpose 
of giving immigrants information regarding different parts 
of the country so that they may make a good choice of a 
home. A widespread movement is under way at the present 
time to Americanize all foreign-born people, to afford them 
school facilities, and to train teachers to teach those 
foreigners who attend the night schools. 

Government also safeguards those who migrate from 
place to place in our own country. Transfers of property 
must be recorded (see Chapter XXIII), railroad rates for the 
shipment of freight or the carrying of people are regulated by 
the government, the safety of travelers is looked out for. 
The national government regulates what you may carry from 
one state to another. In time of war all migration may be 
forbidden, or the government may forbid foreigners to live 
in places where they may do harm to the government. Some 
states, New York, for example, try to place those without 
work in places where they may make a living. Religious 
freedom is guaranteed to all, no matter where one lives. A 
jury trial may be demanded by all. A person does not lose 
his citizenship by moving from one state to another and 
may cast his ballot after he has fulfilled the residence quali- 
fications of the new home to which he goes. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. In what ways does immigration help a nation? What harm may 
come to a nation from its foreign population ? 

2. Why do foreigners group together when they come to America? 
To what evils does this give rise ? 

3. What name is given to an unnaturalized foreigner? What 
rights has he ? 



MIGRATION 153 

4. How many years have your people been in America? From 
what country or countries did your ancestors come ? 

5. The descendants of how many nationahties are represented in 
your class? 

6. Locate any foreign colony you may have in your community. 

7. If an unmarried woman of foreign birth comes to America, may 
she be naturalized ? 

8. Why do more immigrants come to America than to other foreign 
coimtries ? 

9. Why do immigrants coming to the port of New York have to go 
to Ellis Island before they are permitted to land in America? Why 
do so many settle in New York ? 

10. How much money is it necessary for an immigrant to have before 
he can enter the United States ? 

11. What is ''contract labor"? Why is immigration of "contract 
labor" forbidden? 

12. Why does the government of the United States forbid the people 
of certain nations to settle in tliis country ? 

13. Why were some restrictions on immigration at the close of the 
war with Germany considered necessary? 

14. Are immigrants examined in any way by their home country be- 
fore they set out for America ? 

15. Are children who are born of foreign parents in this country 
citizens ? 

16. Do you think immigrants should be examined physically and 
mentally before they land in America ? Why ? 

17. What were the causes of migration during colonial times? Do 
the same causes act to-day to bring people to our shores ? 

18. Should immigrants who cannot read and write in their own 
language be excluded from the country ? Why ? 

19. Why should those of foreign birth who come to settle in this 
country command our respect ? 

20. What is meant by ''Americanization"? What steps is the 
nation, tlirough local, state, and national governments, taking to carry 
out this most important work ? 

21. If you are a person of foreign birth, where may you and your 
people go to learn to read and write and speak the English language 
well, so that you may become good citizens ? 

22. Write a composition on the subject, "My Ancestral Country." 

23. Write a composition on the subject, "Why I Prefer the United 
States to Any Other Country." 



CHAPTER X 

THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS, AND 
THE COURTS 

Reasonableness of law. — Boys and girls know that they 
are governed by laws which are made for their benefit ; if 
the laws are broken, punishment follows. If every one were 
allowed to do as he pleased, there would be much trouble 
in the community. Wherever we go laws are found ; laws 
are made which govern the home ; when we go to school, 
certain laws or rules are found there which must be obeyed. 
If we look into the matter we shall find a reason for every 
law that is made. We shall find that each one contributes 
in some manner to the peace and order of the community. 
In a game of baseball there are rules to be followed. Why ? 
If you play tennis you must follow the rules of the game. 
Why? In just such a manner, if you play the game of life 
properly, you must follow the rules, obey the laws made for 
the proper conduct of the game. A city ordinance which 
forbids sliding down hill in certain sections of your com- 
munity may seem queer to you. Think it over and see if 
you can find a reason for such an ordinance. The rules 
of the school forbid whispering at certain times or forbid 
running in the halls. Can you see the reason for such laws ? 

The breaking of laws is followed by punishment. If you 
break the laws of the school you are punished. If you 
disobey your parents, punishment follows. If you break 

154 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 



155 



physical laws punishment follows the same as with man- 
made laws. If you eat too much you are ill. If you expose 
your face to the cold too long, you are frozen and you suffer 
pain. In just such a man- 
ner punishment follows 
breaking of the laws of 
the land. If the com- 
munity forbids playing 
ball in the street, and the 
law is broken, one may 
find himself before the 
police justice. 

Colonial punishments. 
— In colonial times the 
punishments were very 
severe, and some of them 
seem very strange to us to- 
day. Many things which 
seem proper to us were 
severely punished then. 
In New England the man 
who kissed his wife on 
the Sabbath day was con- 
demned to sit in the 
stocks. The stocks and 
the pillory were very com- 
mon forms of punishment. 
The first person who occupied the stocks in Boston was the 
man who made them. "Edward Palmer for his extortion 
is fyned five pounds and censured to set an hour in the 
stocks." For women who scolded there was the ducking 
stool. Men and women were equal before the law, for Jane 




Photo by C. Earl Sabin. Posed by Dana B. RoUee 
The Stocks 

The stocks shown in the picture were 
in use about 1825. Notice the heavy 
manacles on the wrists of the young 
man posing for the picture, the heavy 
padlock, and the manner in which the 
legs are confined. 



156 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Andrews who sold two stones in a tub of butter, was stood 
for two hours at town meeting ''with her offense written in 
capitall letters upon a paper on her forehead." 

Boys and girls were punished if they were ill-behaved, 
particularly on Sunday. It is recorded that a Connecticut 
boy was accused by the magistrate before whom he was 
brought on Monday morning of "Rude and Idyl Behavior in 
the Meeting house. Such as Larfing and Smiling and Intis- 
ing others to the Same evil. Such as Puling the hair of his 
Neighbor, Benoni Simkins, in the Time of publick Worship. 
Such as throwing Sister Pentecost Perkins on the ice, it 
being the Sabbath Day." Colonial girls were as naughty 
in church as were the boys, for Tabitha Morgus, a young 
Connecticut miss, is written down as having '' prophaned 
the Lord's day by here rude and indecent behavior in Laugh- 
ing and Playing in ye time of service." Such actions were 
deemed sufficient for bringing the culprits before the magis- 
trate and the infliction of severe punishment. 

Safeguards for the innocent. — It is so important that 
the guilty be punished and the innocent go free, that govern- 
ment very carefully safeguards the rights of those who are 
accused of breaking the law. In the eyes of the law a person 
is innocent until he is proved guilty. The Constitution of 
the United States carefully states the rights of any accused 
person, and since treason is such a terrible crime, it defines 
what it is. (See Chapter XXV.) It states that the trial 
of all crimes except impeachment shall be by jury ; no person 
shall be held for a serious crime except by a formal accusa- 
tion by a body of men met for such purpose, known as a grand 
jury. Neither shall any person be placed twice in danger of 
life and limb for the same offense. No one may be com- 
pelled to testify against himself, nor may he be deprived 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 157 

of life, liberty, or property without a trial. From these state- 
ments one may see the government cannot be vindictive 
or punish a person without a cause as it used to do in early 
times. Formerly a king or any one in power could seize 
a person, throw him into prison, and keep him there as 
long as he wished. The Constitution forbids this, except 
when war makes such a proceeding necessary. So careful 
is government of the rights of the people, that it even forbids 
the imposing of extraordinary fines and punishments. 

Not only does the Constitution of the United States safe- 
guard the innocent by its '' Bill of Rights," but in each of the 
constitutions of the different states similar safeguards have 
been placed. In this way the people are twice guarded. 

Children's courts. — If a boy breaks a local ordinance by 
playing ball in the street, he may be placed under arrest 
by an officer. He is ordered to report the next day to the 
office of the children's court accompanied by his parents. 
If the local community has no such court, he is sent to the 
office of the police justice or justice of the peace. Here the 
case against the accused is stated, witnesses for each side 
may be called, and when the judge is satisfied that he has the 
truth of the matter he may impose sentence if guilt is proved. 
Those who have committed a more serious offense against the 
peace of the community may be taken from their homes and, 
after conviction, placed in a reform school or other institu- 
tion, where they are taught obedience to the law. In many 
of the juvenile courts to-day the boy or girl is placed on 
honor. '' Some judges make a practice of sending a boy 
without guards to report to a rather distant reform school. 
It is interesting to note that, where the juvenile court judge 
or probation officers use good judgment, they are rarely dis- 
appointed by the boys and girls." 



158 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



More serious cases. — For convenience in bringing cases 
to trial they are divided into two classes, civil and criminal 
cases. The first class consists of those cases in which there 
is a quarrel between two persons ; the other consists of those 
in which the state or the nation seeks the punishment of an 
individual. The punishment of the serious crimes is more 

formal than that of a 
juvenile case. Let us see 
how a murder case is con- 
ducted. When a murder 
is committed, the first 
thing government does 
is to arrest the one 
supposed to be guilty. 
Sometimes this is done 
only after a long time, 
at other times the person 
is arrested on the spot. 
Such an arrest may be 
made by any one, who then turns the offender over to 
the proper officer, a policeman, a constable, a sheriff's officer 
or a state trooper. Arrests are usually made by the officer 
chosen by the community to keep the peace. Many times, 
however, the arrest is made only after a warrant has been 
issued. A warrant is a document which contains a descrip- 
tion of the criminal and a statement of the crime. It may 
be obtained by any one who feels reasonably sure of the guilt 
of the party to be arrested. It is usually obtained by one 
of the officials of the community chosen to keep its peace, 
from a magistrate of some sort, justice of the peace, city 
judge, or other such official. In serving the warrant, that 
is, in making the arrest, the officer may go to any length, 




Courtesy New York Slate Prison Commission 

A Model Lock-up in a Small 
Community 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 159 

even to killing the accused, if he threatens the life of the 
oflBcer and is on the point of carrying out his threat. 

The prisoner is placed in jail and kept there for safe keep- 
ing until his trial. In cases other than murder, he is allowed 
to be at liberty after he has been taken before a magistrate 
and the charges against him have been heard, provided a 
person is found who will furnish bail. This means that 
friends of the accused may furnish a sum of money or other 
security which will be forfeited to the state if the accused 
runs away before he is brought to trial. 

The indictment and the grand jury. — In a majority of 
states as soon as the prisoner is lodged in jail, the prosecut- 
ing attorney, representing the power of the state, draws up a 
bill of indictment and presents it to the grand jury. The 
indictment is the formal charge, in writing, against the 
accused. 

The grand jury is a body of men drawn by lot from the 
inhabitants of the county. Its number is not less than twelve 
nor more than twenty-three, the number varying in dif- 
ferent states. A common number is fifteen. To this body, 
which meets at stated times a year, or to a special grand 
jury which may be summoned by the proper authorities, 
the public prosecutor brings the bill of indictment and also 
summons the necessary witnesses to support the indictment. 
If the grand jury thinks sufficient evidence has been presented 
to hold the accused for trial, the words " a true bill " are 
written across the face of the indictment, and the prisoner 
is held for the trial jury. If the jury thinks the evidence 
against the accused is insufficient, he is set free. A prisoner 
may have a lawyer and summon witnesses in his own behalf. 
If he is too poor to afford this, a lawyer is assigned him by the 
court. 



160 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



The trial. — When the time for the trial arrives, the accused 
is brought into court before the judge, and the clerk of the 
court reads the indictment. To this the prisoner pleads 
" guilty " or ^' not guilty." If he pleads guilty, he is at once 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
A Scene in a Court Room 

At the left of the judge (center) sits the court clerk, near whom stand 
the sheriff and his deputy. At the right of the judge sits the court stenog- 
rapher, and near him stands the court crier. The jury sits in the jury box 
on the right. In front of the sheriff is a witness and near him is an inter- 
preter. In the foreground are the prisoner and his jailor. The four men 
standing are the attorneys for the defense and the district-attorney and his 
assistant. 



sentenced by the judge and the sentence of the court is 
carried out. If he pleads " not guilty " the trial takes place. 
A number of names of the inhabitants of the county are 
drawn for trial jurors in a manner similar to the drawing for 
grand jurors. Of these men, twelve are chosen to hear the 
evidence given at the trial. The prosecuting attorney makes 
the opening speech, stating the facts he expects to prove, 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 161 

and summons his witnesses. These witnesses are examined 
by the prosecuting attorney and by the counsel for the de- 
fense. The witnesses for the prisoner are then examined by 
both lawyers, and both sum up the evidence presented. 
The judge then states the law to the jury and the possible 
punishment for the various degrees of guilt. The jury retires 
and considers the case. When the twelve men reach an 
agreement, they return to the court room, and the foreman of 
the jury, that is, the one chosen as its chairman, announces 
the decision, called the " verdict." If the verdict is '' guilty," 
the judge pronounces sentence, either then or a few days later. 
If the verdict is '^ not guilty," the prisoner is discharged. 
If the jury fails to agree on a verdict, it is discharged, and a 
new trial may be ordered with a new jury. In some of the 
states only nine or ten of the twelve men need agree on the 
verdict. In a majority of the states the verdict must be 
unanimous. Other criminal cases are conducted in practi- 
cally the same manner as the one already outlined. 

A civil case is tried in a manner similar to that used in a 
criminal case. If a person feels harmed by some one else 
or by a corporation, he may bring suit against that person 
or corporation for damages. A corporation may also bring 
such a suit. The two parties to the dispute are known as 
the plaintiff and the defendant, the one bringing the charge, 
and the other defending the suit. Sometimes a jury is 
drawn in the same way as in a criminal case ; sometimes the 
witnesses give their facts before a judge, who listens care- 
fully to the case and then pronounces judgment. 

Solemnity of a court. — If you should go into a court 
room you would be impressed at once with the air of great 
solemnity which pervades the whole proceedings. At the 
call of the clerk announcing the entrance of the judge, clad 



162 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

in his silken robe of office, every one in the room rises in his 
place and remains standing until the judge is seated. There 
is no loud talking in the room ; everything is done in a quiet 
manner. Any refusal on the part of a witness to answer 
questions asked may be severely punished by the judge, 
as also may any disorder on the part of the audience. Any 
disrespect shown the judge on the part of a witness, a lawyer 
or any one in the room may be punished either by a fine or 
by imprisonment, or both. If the spectators are noisy, 
even by applause, the judge may order the court room 
cleared and refuse to go on with the case until this is done. 
Rights of the accused. — So important is the matter of a 
fair trial for every one brought into court, that the United 
States Constitution specifies the rights of the accused as 
follows — (see Chapter XXV) : 

(1) he must have a reasonable bail ; 

(2) he must be supplied with a copy of the accusation 
against him ; 

(3) he cannot be forced to act as a witness, though he may 
do this if it seems best ; 

(4) he must have a speedy trial before a jury whose im- 
partiality has been tested by the attorneys of each side ; 

(5) if acquitted, he may not be brought to trial the second 
time for the same crime. 

Punishment of a crime. — After a person has been sen- 
tenced by a judge, he is taken to the prison provided by the 
state or nation for his punishment. A great change has 
taken place in recent years in the treatment of those who are 
unfortunate enough to be shut up in prison. Until recent 
years, the sentences imposed on convicted criminals were for 
the purpose of punishment and retribution for the wrong 
committed, or by the horrible punishment inflicted, to keep 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 



163 



people from committing crime. Neither of these methods 
was successful in lessening crime. 

Changes in methods of punishment. — To-day punish- 
ments are given to make the wrong-doer pay the penalty 
for his crime, but with this difference — every effort is now 
made to reform the criminal and turn him from his evil ways. 




Courtesy of New Yort State Prison Commission 
Prison Cells in a Modern Prison 



So successful has this treatment been that a gentleman 
connected with the Prisoners' Relief Society stated that 
ninety-five per cent of the prisoners who have left prison 
and have been given a chance, have made good. " During 
the three years from 1914 to 1917 nine thousand five 
hundred men who have been released from prison found 
employment." About twenty thousand employers in various 



164 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



parts of the country are helping to give employment to 
former convicts. 

Hope for the future. — It is hoped that some day the 
prisons will no longer be places where men and women 
are herded together like animals, places where cruel and in- 
human punishments are inflicted. Schools have been estab- 




Courlesy of Nciv York State Prison Commission 
Ball Game between Officers and Inmates, Auburn 

lished in many prisons, for society has learned at last that 
the great majority of the crimes have been committed either 
through ignorance or because the criminal was weak mentally. 
In many prisons, the inmates are treated in a thoroughly 
humane manner. They are permitted such pleasures as may 
seem proper to the officials in charge of them. Many prisons 
have baseball leagues of their own, and the severest punish- 



THE CORRECTION OP WRONG-DOERS 



165 



ment that can be inflicted upon a prisoner for breaking the 
rules of the prison, is to be forbidden to see the ball games 
when they are played. Recently a squad of prisoners from 
one of the prisons in New York state were permitted to spend 
the summer repairing a stretch of state road some miles from 
the prison. They were on their honor and under only a small 




Courtesy of New Yort State Prison Commission 
Inmates of a Prison Working in Shop 



guard. Two of the prisoners broke their parole and ran 
away. The others were so. angry that they begged their 
guards to allow them to try to catch the runaways. When 
permission was granted, it was not long before the culprits 
were taken. Most prisons have done away with the striped 
clothing, the clipped hair, and the lock step, as these tend 
to degrade a prisoner. In some prisons mutual welfare 



166 . COMMUNITY CTVTCS 

leagues have been formed which rule the prison somewhat 
as self government does the schools. 

Society is learning that many who have committed some 
crime and been sent to prison are not really to blame. Be- 
cause of their surroundings and associates, it would have 
been almost impossible for these persons not to become 
criminals. To do away with these bad conditions, many 
societies are waging a war for the prevention of crime. 
Compulsory school laws are passed to make all children get 
an education ; the slums are wiped out ; a constitutional 
amendment has been passed which forbids the sale of 
liquor. The conditions surrounding those who might 
become criminals are so improved that it is hoped 
the number of those who have to go to prison will be 
decreased. 

New methods of prison sentence. — In addition to the 
methods mentioned in the previous paragraph, recently a 
new method of sentencing those who have committed crime 
has been used. The one who has committed his first offense 
against the law is no longer shut up with the old hardened 
offender. In many states after a person has served a part of 
his sentence, he is placed on probation, or parole. If he 
again commits a crime, he has to serve out the remaining 
part of his original sentence. In many cases a judge no 
longer sentences a wrong-doer to a definite sentence. As 
soon as the prisoner shows that he is sincere in his reformation 
and intends to " go straight," he may be released on parole. 
Sometimes the judge suspends sentence and places the 
prisoner on probation. He has to report to the judge or 
other stated officer at definite times to show that he is living 
a good life. When he shows by his behavior that he is 
going to continue to be a good citizen, the sentence is 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 167 

lifted. This is often the way a sentence is given to boys 
and girls who are brought to the juvenile courts. 

The courts. — Perhaps you are becoming somewhat be- 
wildered with the number and variety of judges that have 
been thus far mentioned in this chapter, — justices of the 
peace, city judges, police court judges, county judges. Yet 
there are more of them. Government is so anxious that no 
person shall be punished until he is really proven guilty, 
that it has provided courts to which appeals may be made 
from the lower courts. In addition, there are some matters 
which have to do with state and national affairs which de- 
mand state and national courts. 

Each state has established several courts. Most of the 
commonwealths have what are known as circuit courts or 
district courts, so named because the judges travel from 
district to district to hear cases. Above this is the supreme 
court of the state, the highest tribunal in the common- 
wealth. These state courts have the power of changing 
the decisions of the lower courts if they think a wrong has 
been done in the case on trial. 

United States courts. — In addition to the state courts 
are the federal or national courts. Their judges are 
appointed by the President with the consent of the senate. 
Offenses against the laws of the national government are 
tried in these courts. Crimes such as counterfeiting the 
money of the nation, breaking the food and drug laws, in- 
fringing on patents and copyrights, are tried before the 
national judges. Others hear appeals from the lower courts 
of the states. The court of customs appeals decides the ques- 
tions arising from the decisions made in classifying articles 
brought into the country. In some cases an appeal may be 
made to the national courts from the decision of a state court. 



168 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

The Supreme Court of the United States. — The highest 
of all the courts in the nation is known as the Supreme 
Court of the United States. It is equal in dignity to the 
President and to Congress, and has played a very important 
part in the government. Let us pay a visit to a sitting of 
the court. 

The court meets in what was formerly the senate chamber 
in the capitol. Across the corridor from this room is the 
robing room where the nine justices meet a little before twelve 
each day, except Saturday, to put on their black silk robes of 
office. When the court was organized in Washington's 
administration, there was a great deal of discussion as to 
how its members should be dressed. Some wished the 
judges to wear robes and large wigs such as the English 
judges wore. '' For heaven's sake,'^ exclaimed Thomas 
Jefferson, " discard the monstrous wig, which makes the 
English judges look like rats peeping through bunches of 
oakum." So our judges followed his advice and wear the 
gowns but not the wigs. A passageway across the corridor 
is roped off by silken cords, and the court, led by the Chief 
Justice and followed by the other judges in the order of their 
appointment, marches slowly across the corridor and into 
the court room. Here everybody rises when the marshal of 
the court announces the arrival of the judges and remains 
standing until the judges are seated. The judges are seated 
behind a high desk, with the chief justice in the center. After 
formal notice is given, the Supreme Court of the United 
States is open for business. 

The court is assisted by the necessary officials, clerks, 
marshals, and pages. Mr. Haskin in his *' American Govern- 
ment " says : " The pages of the Supreme Court are an inter- 
esting lot of young fellows. They must wear their knicker- 



THE CORRECTION OF WRONG-DOERS 169 

bockers as long as they continue to serve as such, and this 
brings about the somewhat ludicrous situation of a full 
fledged lawyer going around in boy's clothes. They come 
in when they are small boys and begin to read law imme- 
diately thereafter. By the time they are grown they are 
well advanced in law, and when they reach their majority 
they are ready to be admitted to practice." 

This court has control only of certain cases, which are 
designated in the Constitution of the United States. Their 
most important duty is to declare whether any law, local, 
state, or national, in their judgment, conflicts with the Con- 
stitution. Most of the cases which come before it are such 
as are appealed to it from lower courts, but it also settles 
all cases in which the United States is a party, and quarrels 
between states. If the ambassador from France should be 
arrested for breaking the laws, he would be tried before the 
Supreme Court, as it has been given original jurisdiction 
in such cases. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. What does your state do to reform those who are in its prisons ? 

2. What work does the Salvation Army do to give discharged 
prisoners a new start in life ? 

3. Who has charge of the prisons and reformatories in yom* state? 
How was he chosen for that office ? Is he trying any means of prison 
reform ? 

4. Are aliens subject to the same punishments for crime as citizens ? 
Is this right? Why? 

5. Do you think there is any difference in the numbers of those 
needing correction since the prohibition amendment to the Constitu- 
tion of the United States went into effect? What leads you to this 
conclusion ? 

6. Describe the work of the state constabulary of Pennsylvania or 
New York, in arresting criminals. Do you think there should be a 
similar body in your state ? Why ? 



170 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

• 

7. Should a person be given a light or a severe sentence for the first 
oflFense against the law ? Why ? 

8. If you should have to be taken before a judge, what kind of 
person would you like him to be ? 

9. Do you know of any laws in your community which are not 
enforced ? Why are they not enforced ? 

10. Some people are opposed to the death penalty for serious crimes. 
Can you give any reasons for this ? 

11. What are the rights given by the Constitution of the United 
States to every person accused of crime ? 

12. Should convict labor be used in any of the occupations of the 
state to make up for a shortage of labor ? Why ? 

13. Why are there laws in some states against the use of prison-made 
goods ? 

14. What courts are there in your community to take care of those 
accused of crime ? How are the judges chosen ? 

15. What courts has your state to which appeals may be made or 
which have charge of the more serious crimes? How are these judges 
chosen ? 

16. Select a half dozen laws of the community and show their 
reasonableness. 

17. How does the Constitution of the United States define treason ? 
How many witnesses are necessary to prove the accusation ? What is 
the punishment for treason ? 



CHAPTER XI 

THE NEEDY AND DEPENDENT 

There are people in every community who cannot care 
for themselves and who are therefore dependent on help from 
others. This need for help may be from no fault of the 
dependent, as in the case of children who are lacking the 
care of their parents, or people who have become so old 
they can no longer work. All of us are dependent on our 
parents in our early years for our support. They give us 
food, clothing, a home, and an education so that when we 
grow up we are the better able to support ourselves and our 
families. We do not think of ourselves at that time as 
objects of charity, but what our parents do for us, the com- 
munity has to do for some of its citizens. For this reason 
we should always be ready to listen to the calls for help from 
the really needy. 

Causes of need of help. — There are many causes of this 
need for help. Sometimes need arises from the surroundings 
in which people are placed ; for example, disasters arising 
from earthquakes, fire, or famine. The great earthquake 
in San Francisco, the great fire in Chicago, and the famine 
in Armenia are examples of this. Perhaps the greatest num- 
ber of calls for help are due to personal disability. Such are 
blindness, feeblemindedness, and insanity. Moral defects, 
such as dishonesty, laziness, shiftlessness, bring many to 
want. Sickness and accidents are prolific causes of need. 

171 



172 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Probably one third of all cases calling for help are caused by 
sickness. 

A third set of causes are called social causes. First among 
these come the changes which take place in industry and 
which affect many workmen. Some belong to trades in which 
there is work only a part of the year. Workmen are some- 
times thrown out of employment by strikes. We have 
learned what poverty is caused by unrestrained ambition 
which brought on a horrible war to satisfy a love for power. 

Education. — It is true of a great majority of the needy that 
they are lacking in education. (See Chapter III.) Educa- 
tion helps to do away with poverty. The boys and girls 
who leave school before it is necessary for the sake of a 
*' job " find themselves in later life in a " blind alley " occupa- 
tion ; that is, one in which it is impossible to advance. 
Statistics tell us that the money they receive for the last 
position they hold will be the same as for the first one. They 
have made no advance, and in later life find it hard to get 
any position. If they had made use of the advantages offered 
by the schools, they would have been able to advance. The 
boy who wishes to become a skilled mechanic, who can read 
the micrometer and has some knowledge of geometry, other 
things being equal, has a better chance of advancement 
than the boy who cannot do these things. The girl who be- 
comes a clerk, studies methods of salesmanship, and has 
some knowledge of the materials she sells and how to use 
them, has a better chance of advancement than the one with- 
out an education. The " job " may look big at first and the 
money received seem much better than school, but it is the 
future and its work that must be looked to. 

Intemperance and poverty. — Aside from the other evils 
which follow in its train, it is estimated that intemperance has 



THE NEEDY AND DEPENDENT 173 

caused about one fifth of all cases of dependency. Money 
which should be spent for the support of the family has been 
spent in the saloon. '^ The bread-winner who puts an enemy 
into his mouth to steal away his brains is incapacitated 
for industry and responsibility; . . . strong men become 
feeble and destitute through the drink habit." Two billion 
dollars has been spent every year for drink ; this is enough 
to pay the whole debt of the nation as it was just before the 
war with Germany. To this waste must be added the amount 
spent by communities in aid of those rendered needy by the 
money spent for liquor. It is expected that the amend- 
ment to the federal constitution passed in 1919, prohibiting 
the sale and use of intoxicating liquor as a beverage, will, in a 
large degree, lessen the evils springing from intemperance. 

War and poverty. — • War has been mentioned as a cause of 
poverty. Those who have lived through the World War have 
no need to be told of the awful want and misery war costs. 
Sometimes it is necessary for a nation to fight, even as it 
was for us, to help to make ''the world a decent place to 
live in." War kills or incapacitates the supports of the 
family, destroys towns or breaks them up, and scatters 
families. The whole world was aghast at the ruin wrought 
in Belgium, the horrors in Poland, the famines in that part 
of France held by Germany. So great was the devastation 
wrought by this war, and so destitute were those whom war 
touched that the whole world was glad to render help. Every 
one learned that it was more blessed to give than to receive. 

Laziness and poverty. — Another cause of poverty that 
has been mentioned is laziness. We have large numbers 
of people who are poor because they will not work. Against 
such, some states have passed laws which make them work 
or go to prison. Many are living on the community or are 



174 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

supported by their families. Others are equally lazy, but 
wander from place to place ; these we call " hobos " or tramps. 
They beg food at our back doors, steal rides on the trains, 
and some become petty criminals. It is wrong to give 
food or money to beggars who come to our homes, or to 
those whom we see on the streets who are evading the 
laws against begging by pretending to offer pencils or 
other worthless articles for sale. The professional beggar 
is often more able to give than the one who gives to him. 
It is a very bad thing to give indiscriminately, as it makes 
the people to whom the gifts are made continue in this easy 
and dishonorable way of getting a living, and may induce 
others to try such a means of living without working. 

Methods of relief. — The care of the needy is usually the 
affair of the local community, because each community 
knows best the needs of the persons living in it. There are 
two general methods of granting public help to the needy ; 
(1) outdoor relief, or that given in their homes to those 
who are dependents ; and (2) indoor relief, relief through 
placing the dependent person in an institution maintained 
either by government or by private means. 

Outdoor relief is carried on by the local community, which 
usually raises the money for this purpose by taxation. 
Officials are usually elected or appointed to have charge 
of this fund and see that it is worthily applied. Through 
this means families are supplied with food, clothing, fuel or 
other necessities. The great danger from such help is that 
the shiftless and the lazy come to rely on it rather than on 
working to earn a living. '' Nearly all the experiences in 
this country indicate that outdoor relief is a source of corrup- 
tion in politics, of expense to the community, and of degrada- 
tion and increased pauperization to the poor." 



THE NEEDY AND DEPENDENT 175 

Almost every community has one or more societies for the 
relief of the needy. The result has been that much of the 
work has been duplicated, and unscrupulous persons have 
made a good living by applying to the different societies 
in turn and getting help from all. To do away with this 
evil, at the present time many cities are forming associations 
to look more carefully after the spending of money for the 
poor. The association gives only after each case has been 
examined fairly, tries to prevent the need of charity by 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
An Orphan Asylum 

Here the community provides a home for those who have been so unfortunate 

as to lose their parents. 

visits to the homes of the poor and the shiftless, and gives 
advice which will make persons self-supporting. Help is 
refused to those who will not try to help themselves. 

Indoor relief. — Except in New England, where a poor- 
farm is maintained by most communities, the counties in 
most of the commonwealths maintain an alms-house in 
which those who through age or incapacity cannot support 
themselves are given a home. Officials are paid by the 
authorities to look after the inmates, and a physician is 
provided if they are ill. In return the inmates are expected 



176 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

to work if they are able, a part of the day at least. It is 

said on good authority that more than half of those in alms- 
houses are able to work, but do not, as they are not willing 
to work when support is to be had for nothing. In addi- 
tion to the alms-house, many counties maintain a hospital 
for those suffering from tuberculosis. Here those who have 
contracted this disease are maintained at the expense of the 
public until they are restored to health and once more be- 
come self-supporting. Such institutions are also maintained 
in some of the states by state funds. 

Relief of poor children. — The great English novelist, 
Charles Dickens, said, " Throw a child under a cart horse's 
foot and a loaded wagon, rather than take him to an alms- 
house." Such a statement was all too well founded in 
Dickens' day. Little children were forced to associate with 
the insane and degenerate, and the disgrace which inevitably 
clings to such a place was theirs. The whole influence of the 
place was low and degrading. Fortunately, at the present 
time, the placing of children in an alms-house is forbid- 
den in most states by law. Many communities maintain 
asylums for orphans and other dependent children. A bet- 
ter method recognizes that the home is the only place for a 
child. Homes are sought out for unfortunate children. After 
these homes have been carefully investigated, children from 
the different asylums are sent to be taken care of and brought 
up as members of the family. The homes in which the 
children are placed, are under the supervision and watch- 
fulness of the authorities until such a time as it is known 
that the children will be well brought up. 

Care such as is now given dependent children, either in 
an asylum or a home, is necessary for two reasons ; one for 
the sake of the community, and the other for the sake of the 



THE NEEDY AND DEPENDENT 



177 



child. Such care is necessary because it takes the child from 
the evil influences of the street, which would be almost sure 
to make a criminal of him and therefore a menace to the 
community. It also gives the child a chance for protection 
and an education, a chance to grow up a useful citizen and 
to earn his living. 

Medical charity. — There is one class of the needy who 
should have all the care the community can give, that is, the 




Courtesy of Rutherford Hayner 
The Work op the Red Cross in Peace 

Teaching home nursing and infant care. 

sick poor. In addition to all the work which the com- 
munity and its societies do for the needy, the local com- 
munity usually maintains a doctor for the sick, and some- 
times a nurse to take care of them. The doctor responds 
to the calls which are made on him, gives the needed medicine, 
and sends the sick to the free ward in the hospital if necessary. 
Most of the larger communities maintain a hospital where 
there are free beds for those who cannot pay. Those who 



178 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

live in cities are familiar with the sound of the clanging bell 
of the ambulance, hurrying on its way of mercy. 

The Red Cross. — One of the greatest associations formed 
for the help of the needy is the Red Cross Society. Its great 
use was seen during the period of the Great War with Ger- 
many. The world was then a great community. Every 




United States Official Photo 
Red Cross Workers on the Job 

Red Cross men attending to the wounded during the World War. 



one helped his neighbor among other nations. There was 
hardly a home which did not display a Red Cross in the 
window, as evidence of giving to help the suffering of the 
allied nations. Organized originally to give relief caused by 
sudden needs, fires, floods, or earthquakes, its great work 
during the war taught what organized relief really might be. 



THE NEEDY AND DEPENDENT 179 

State institutions. — The state provides hospitals and 
asylums for some dependent members of the community. 
This is necessary as the cost would be too great if a local 
community alone was forced to give these unfortunates 
proper care. In these institutions are placed the blind, 
the deaf-mutes, the insane, and the mentally deficient. The 
insane, like dependent children, are taken care of not only 
for their own sake, but so that they may not be a menace to 
the locality where they live. Formerly the insane were 
treated harshly, and " cruel and barbarous methods pre- 
vailed in the treatment of the poor unfortunate inmates. 
They were often thrust into dark and prison-like cells, or 
kept in cages like wild animals. They were often compelled 
to live in great filth, . . . and often weighted down with 
great chains." With such treatment there was no chance 
for the recovery of either mind or body. As a result of the 
modern scientific treatment of the insane, one half of 
those sent to the hospitals are either cured or so improved 
that they may be returned to their homes without being a 
menace to others. 

The mentally defective are now taken care of in institu- 
tions. Probably one half of the people in the various alms- 
houses are feeble-minded ; twenty per cent to fifty per cent of 
criminals are mentally defective ; in the reformatories sixty 
to eighty per cent are in the same condition. If these un- 
fortunates could have had proper care, crime and pauperism 
would be much reduced. It has been suggested that those 
now in our jails, alms-houses, reformatories, etc., be sub- 
jected to scientific tests, and that when such inmates are 
found to be defective, they be placed in institutions where 
they may receive care rather than punishment. 

The blind and the deaf-mutes are made the wards of the 



180 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



state. By the use of ingenious apparatus they are taught 
to do many seemingly impossible things. The blind are 
taught to read by touch and are taught to follow many 
trades and professions, — weaving, piano tuning, type- 
writing. Helen Keller, blind, deaf, and dumb from birth, 
has been enabled to receive a college education. Those 




Courtesy New York State Charities Commission 

Group of Homes Provided by the State for Dependents 

The new way of building a home for those who need care is to construct 
a group of separate buildings rather than one large one. This makes the 
care more homelike. 



who came back from the World War, seemingly useless from 
blindness or wounds, in many instances have been taught 
to be self-supporting. 

State laws. — Some of the states have passed laws 
affecting the whole commonwealth, that are expected to 
do away with a great deal of charity. These laws have 
already been mentioned, — the workman's compensation act, 



THE NEEDY AND DEPENDENT 181 

the widow's pension act, the minimum wage law, and 
other such acts. These relieve to a great extent many 
cases to which help would have to be given when the chief 
bread-winner has died or is ill. By the relief afforded by the 
state, the children may be kept in the home and the parents 
relieved of worry. 

Cost of charities. — The care of the poor and unfortunate 
costs the different communities of the nation more than 
anything else, the cost of war alone excepted. It has been 
estimated that one twenty-fifth of the whole population 
of the nation is dependent on charity. In one's own com- 
munity there may not be many who need help from some one 
else, but in the aggregate throughout the country, the num- 
ber reaches millions. " In the story of Gulliver's travels, 
it was not any one of the fine threads which held him to earth, 
but the millions of strands which the busy little men carried 
over his body in every direction." It costs the nation nearly 
$200,000,000 per year to pay for the support of the needy. 
This means that a sum equal to one cent out of every ten 
of the total amount of wages paid out by all the manufactur- 
ing industries of the country, must be paid to support some 
one else. It is very evident, then, that whatever can be done 
to restore these helpless ones to self-support, or better yet, to 
keep people from needing help, is a fine thing for the nation. 

These figures do not mean, as we have said, that all the 
people who receive this aid are at fault, any more than you 
were at fault when you received help from your people when 
you were helpless. Those who are sick usually cannot help 
it. Those who meet with an accident are not always at 
fault ; though we have seen that the warning of '' Safety 
First" has been the cause of a great reduction in the number 
of accidents caused by carelessness. 



182 COMMUNITY CIVICS 



Questions for Investigation 

1 . What does your com m unity do to take care of the poor and needy ? 
What officials are there who attend to this duty ? How are they chosen ? 
What are their duties ? 

2. What societies are there in your community which help those who 
need assistance? How does a needy person go about obtaining 
assistance ? 

3. What does your community do to abate the "tramp" nuisance? 
Do you ever feed them ? Is this a good thing to do ? Why ? 

4. Make a list of the charitable institutions of your local and state 
governments. Draw some conclusions from this list. 

5. How are the different charities supported, mentioned in question 4 ? 

6. What benefits does a community receive from the difiFerent 
organized charities ? 

7. What are some of the results to yourself of being charitable ? 

8. Does an increase in wages prevent poverty ? Why ? 

9. How may charity work an injury to a community? 

10. What public institutions are there in your state for the sole 
purpose of helping those who are defective ? 

11. Write a composition on "The Life of Helen Keller." 

12. Find out all you can about the work the United States govern- 
ment does for those who became dependent because of wounds received 
during the war against Germany. Make a report to the class. 



CHAPTER XII 
GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 

Land 

The ferryman, the blacksmith, and the miller of whom 
we have read were working to make a living. That is the 
goal toward which most people are striving. Some wish 
to get rich, some are satisfied to have a modest sum to take 
care of them in their old age, while others may be fortunate 
enough to have had parents who have provided so well for 
them that all they have to do is to take care of what has 
been left them. We say " Mr. So-and-so is wealthy." We 
mean that he has plenty of money and whatever money 
can buy. In our study of government, however, we must 
broaden our ideas as to the meaning of the word " wealth." 
It has been defined as " merely the material means by which 
the real elements of welfare are secured." In other words 
*' making a living " does not merely mean hoarding up a 
great quantity of money or stocks and bonds, but means the 
securing of enough weajth or goods so that all these things 
which government helps to provide for us may be obtained 
— a home, health, a beautiful city, protection, education, or 
any of the other things we desire which government may 
give. 

What wealth is. — Wealth may be represented by money 
or by something else. The wealth of the ferryman was his 
boat, for by it he gained the elements of welfare for the 

183 



184 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

support of his family. The wealth of the miller was his mill 
and the toll of the grain which he took. The wealth of the 
shoemaker was his tools. Our idea of wealth and that of 
the boy on the farm may be entirely different, and yet both 
may have the right idea of what wealth is. He may desire 
to have his wealth in a hundred-acre farm and big barns to 
hold the products which he raises, both of which will bring 
him all those things that he desires. You may desire a vast 
business which will bring in so great an income that you will 
have automobiles, servants, a grand house, and all the evi- 
dences of wealth which money may bring. So we see that 
wealth may mean a different thing to each person, and yet 
" making a living " is only working to gain those things 
we most desire. 

Elements of wealth. — Into this making of a living or 
acquiring wealth enter three fundamental things : first, 
natural resources, that is those things which nature itself 
gives us ; next, labor, the work we do with either our 
brains or our bodies ; finally, capital, or anything that labor 
has made to produce more goods. We must understand that 
in speaking of capital we do not necessarily mean money, in 
fact we do not mean money as often as we mean something 
else. Oil and steel, which are forms of natural resources, 
when combined in the form of an automobile truck are a 
form of capital. They are the products of labor that are 
used to create more goods. You may be a capitalist, for if 
you own the mower with which you mow a neighbor's lawn 
for pay, your lawn mower is your capital. Let us take 
each of these three elements of wealth and see how closely 
government is connected with each. 

Natural resources. — By natural resources we mean all the 
things which the earth itself gives us, — coal, oil, gold, silver, 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 185 

and the other metals dug from the earth. We also mean the 
fertility of the soil, the movement of the air above the earth, 
the flowing of the waters on the earth in the form of brooks, 
rivers, rain, and snow. All these things are given to us for 
our use, and by combining them with the other two factors of 
wealth, labor and capital, we make our living. 

When the nation was young all the natural resources 
were free to the one who could use them best. The early 
settlers received large grants of land for small sums, and as 
the value of the natural resources of the land was not 
known, many received very valuable grants for small 
sums. But as time went on, and some of these resources 
began to be used up and people selfishly took more than 
they should, government had to step in and regulate their 
use. As the population increased, the amount of fertile soil 
for the use of each person decreased, the amount of water 
power available for use was less. Many of the mines of 
coal, iron, and copper and other minerals fell into the hands 
of unscrupulous individuals who exacted high prices for 
their products. The people in general were being shut out 
of proper participation in the use of these natural resources. 
The wiser men of the nation began to see that it would not 
be long before many of these would be entirely destroyed. 
For this reason, in recent years government has begun to 
take control of many of the natural resources of the coun- 
try. Indeed, during the war with Germany, some of them 
were taken over entirely by the government. 

Lumber. — One of our most carelessly used resources is 
lumber. To the early settler it did not seem possible to 
destroy the vast forests which he found here. His desire 
was to carve for himself a home in the heart of this vast 
wilderness, and to do this he was forced to cut down the 



186 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

trees and burn them. The only use he had for them was to 
build his home and to make his fire. The ashes that he ob- 
tained from the many trees he had to clear away, he used for 
fertilizing his crops. For a long time this wasteful method 
of using timber was continued. No thought was taken for 
the future. Many private individuals obtained control 
of vast tracts of timber land, which they cut over in waste- 
ful fashion. Modern times brought but little change in 
these wasteful methods. Fires started in the slashings and 
burned over vast areas of valuable timber. From 1880 to 
1896 the annual fire loss was $50,000,000, and the cost of 
setting out trees to take the place of those destroyed was 
$50,000,000 more. Added to this was a yearly loss of fifty 
lives. The men who owned the large tracts were anxious 
only to make all the money they could from their grants, 
and so cut them over recklessly. An example of the wasteful 
destruction of valuable trees was shown during the Great 
War. There arose a demand for black walnut for the stocks 
of the soldiers' rifles. So small was the supply, that Presi- 
dent Wilson issued a call to the Boy Scouts of America to 
go into the woods and search for black walnut trees that there 
might be a supply of the needed wood to meet the demand. 
As a result of our careless handling, our timber lands are 
only about sixty-five per cent of what they formerly were. 
Only about one fourth of ou area is forested. 

Saving of lumber. — Since 1891, when the first of the 
forest laws were passed, the nation has attempted to save 
the forests. In that year the president was given authority 
to set aside any public lands bearing forests, as forest re- 
serves. In 1897 a National Bureau of Forestry was estab- 
lished (see Chapter XXI), and now a national force of four 
thousand men patrols these forests. From lofty watch towers 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 187 



Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
Two Views of What Carelessness Does to Our Forests 



188 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




Courtesy of Forest Service, 
Washington, D. C. 

A Fire Lookout Tower in a 
Florida National Forest 



these men watch for fires and 
summon help if need arises. 
They lay out new trails through 
the forests, put up telephone 
lines so that communication may 
be swift if necessary, and drive 
out illegal users of forest lands. 

Not only does the Forestry 
Bureau manage our forests care- 
fully, but it is trying to stop 
wasteful methods of production. 
Trees are cut so wastefully, that 
the loss is nearly twenty-five per 
cent. Mills waste about fifty 
per cent of the logs they cut. 
" It is estimated that 37,000,000 
gallons of turpentine, or more 
than at present produced in the 
United States, might be pro- 
duced from the waste parts of 
the southern pine, the stumps, 
the slabs, and the sawdust." 
The Bureau is trying to teach 
the lumbermen less wasteful 
methods of production. 

State control of forests. — 
Many of the states have at- 
tempted to control the waste 
of timber within their borders. 



Uncle Sam has made some of 
the pubHc lands in Florida into 
national forests, and one of the 
duties of the Forest Service 
which administers them, is to 

protect the timber from fire. These lookout towers are connected by tele- 
phone with the supervisors' and rangers' headquarters, and when smoke is 
discovered, very little time is lost in getting a fire fighting crew to the scene. 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 189 

New York, among others, has established a School of Forestry 
where scientific forestry is studied. Such a school gives a 
chance for any boy who likes life in the open to enter upon a 
profession which is not overcrowded. For many reasons, 
however, it is thought better for the national government 
rather than the state to control the forest lands. One chief 
reason is that forests do not stop at state lines. They 
affect the prosperity of all the country and not alone the 
people of one state. 

Water. — The preservation of the forests is necessary 
for the control of the water supply. The reckless destruc- 
tion of timber on the mountain slopes no longer leaves any- 
thing to hold back the water, and as a result the slopes are 
denuded of their soil and the valleys are flooded. Formerly 
the trees, by their roots and foliage, held back a great quan- 
tity of water and allowed it to run off slowly, and the water 
supply was slowly sent down to the lowlands. The floods 
of to-day are caused by the sudden thawing of the snow on 
the mountain slopes and the heavy rains which rush down 
into the valleys in torrents. To remedy this trouble, and to 
insure a steady and constant supply of water, reforestation 
of the mountain slopes has been undertaken by the state 
and national governments. Millions of trees have been set 
out to replace those which have been cut down by careless 
and unscrupulous woodsmen. The state of New York, for 
example, expends many thousands of dollars each year to 
maintain nurseries for the raising of young trees for the 
purpose of reforestation. 

Water power. — We have seen in the chapter on Health 
(see Chapter IV) how necessary to the health of the people 
is a supply of pure water. Very important also is the 
preservation to the people of water power as a cheap means 



190 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

of power for manufacturing and other purposes. At the 
present time we are using six million horse power derived 
from our streams, but there is nearly ten times that amount 
which might be used. The control of most of the power 
now in use is in the hands of only ten companies. It is 
thus easily seen why it is necessary for the government to 
preserve the power remaining, so that it may not come under 
the control of a few people who might abuse their power. 
Government control of these utilities is necessary to secure 
reasonable charges from the great combinations of capital 
now controlling the water power sites, for at the present time 
they are able to charge unreasonable rates. 

Government and state water control. — Another method 
of control of water undertaken by the government is the 
making of large storage reservoirs, where water may be 
stored and used as needed to irrigate land otherwise unpro- 
ductive. An example of the difficulties attending the con- 
struction of these projects, the story of the building of the 
Uncompahgre project, is found in the chapter on " The 
President's Advisers." (The Secretary of the Interior.) 
Another great undertaking was the building of the Roose- 
velt dam. This great structure is 280 feet high, 630 feet 
wide, and forms a reservoir 25 miles long. Its waters 
have reclaimed 160,000 acres of arid land. The Arrowrock 
dam is still larger than the Roosevelt dam, being 348 feet 
high. 

When we realize that two fifths of the area of the United 
States has so little rainfall that irrigation is necessary for 
successful crops, the value of the work mentioned above is 
readily understood. Since the beginning of the work, in 
1894, nearly a million and a half acres have been made pro- 
ductive in this way. Practically worthless lands in many 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 191 

western states have been changed into beautiful orchards 
worth $1000 an acre. 

Navigation. — Much of the nation's money has been 
wasted in trying to make the rivers and streams of the country 
navigable. One of the greatest scandals of the govern- 
ment is the " Rivers and Harbors " bill, the so-called 
'' pork barrel," by which appropriations are made by Congress 
for the purpose of dredging and otherwise making navigable 
the streams of the country. Many of them were of no use 
except to a very small locality and sometimes were of abso- 
lutely no use even when dredged. There are, however, 
nearly three hundred navigable streams for which the gov- 
ernment appropriates money. The floods each year bring 
down immense quantities of silt, which gradually makes 
such streams of no use unless they are cleaned out. The 
national government is also making a series of navigable 
canals near the coast, from Maine to Florida, which will 
permit ocean traffic without danger from ocean storms. 
Some of these canals, and also the Barge Canal in New 
York State, were taken under government control during the 
World War to facilitate the transportation of goods. This 
helped to relieve the great congestion of the railroads. The 
building of the Panama Canal was another of the government 
projects to help navigation, and also the canalizing of the 
Columbia River for 500 miles of its length. 

Minerals. — Among the many difficult problems which 
the government faced during the war with Germany, none 
was more difficult than those connected with minerals, 
particularly coal. The great congestion of freight traffic, 
the exceptionally cold weather, the difficulty of getting cars 
to carry the coal, made it almost impossible to ship this very 
necessary product. Finally the government appointed a 



192 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



fuel administrator and took over the coal mines, distribut- 
ing coal to the different parts of the country as it was needed. 
Such businesses as were not actually in need of coal were 
refused it, and many others were allowed only a certain per 
cent of the amount formerly used. The price of coal was 
also kept within a reasonable limit. The prices of other 
mineral supplies were fixed so that the government might 
have them for war uses without paying extravagant rates. 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C, 
A Herd of Buffalo in a National Park 

Conservation of wild life by national government. 



Loyal mine owners gladly accepted the prices so fixed, and 
the government was saved many thousands of dollars. Some 
years previous to the war, the President acting under the 
authority given him by Congress, set aside many acres of 
coal and oil lands, thus reserving to the people these valu- 
able supplies of fuel. 

Animal life. — State and nation are now trying to con- 
serve our wild animals as one of our natural resources. It 
has begun this work almost too late as some of our wild ani- 
mals have been almost entirely destroyed. The buffalo has 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 



193 



gone, except for a few individuals here and there. When 
the West was first explored and settled, these animals roamed 
the prairies in countless multitudes. So ruthlessly were 
they slaughtered for their hides that it was not long before 




Courtesy of Conservation Commission, New York 

R,ing-Necked Pheasants 

These game birds have been introduced into America through their 
propagation at a game farm maintained by New York state at Sherburne, 
New York. 



the great herds were almost destroyed. The wild pigeon 
is seldom found in this country, although the early records 
tell of such vast flocks that the sun was actually darkened 
as they flew to their nesting places. If it had not been for 
government propagation the oyster and the lobster would 
have disappeared in the same way. Both the states and the 



194 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



nation have passed laws to stop such indiscriminate slaughter. 
A closed season for wild animals is now established by law 
in most states. Not only do the states forbid the killing 
of wild animals, except at certain seasons of the year, but 
many of them maintain farms where the game birds and 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
Wild Tuekeys on a National Preserve 
Preservation of wild life by state and nation. 



fish are hatched, and from which they are distributed 
throughout the state. The national government forbids the 
killing of wild animals in certain of the national parks, has 
taken over the control of the great seal herds, which were in 
danger of extinction, and maintains a great breeding place 
for wild birds. 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 195 



Questions for Investigation 

1. Are you wealthy ? Of what does your wealth consist ? 

2. What natural resources did your community possess which led to 
its settlement? What natural resources still contribute to its pros- 
perity ? 

3. Does government in any form, local, state, or national, regulate 
the natural resources of your community at the present time ? 

4. Are there mills in your commimity which use lumber ? Do they 
waste it in any way? From what sources do they get their supply of 
lumber ? 

5. Are there any factories in yoiu* vicinity which make use of the 
waste of other forms of industry ? 

6. Trace a redwood tree from its location in the forest to its final 
use. A mahogany tree. A cypress tree. 

7. What laws has your state made for the protection of your forests 
against fire? Are there forest rangers near your home? What are 
their duties ? 

8. What department of the national government has charge of our 
national forests ? What is the name of its Secretary ? What are some 
of his duties ? 

9. What is meant by a *' hydro-electric" law? Has your state 
such a law? What are the advantages of such a law? Disad- 
vantages ? 

10. Is any of your land under irrigation? Where does the water 
come from ? Is the water supplied by a private firm or by the govern- 
ment ? Do you think it better for the government or a corporation to 
control such a supply of water ? Why ? 

11. What has government done in your locality to help navigation? 
Are there any government projects under way or completed near your 
community which are an aid to navigation? If there are, make a 
report on them to the class. 

12. What department of the national government has charge of the 
deepening of rivers ? What are some of its duties ? 

13. Make a report to the class on government control of any minerals 
in your section. 

14. Draw a map of the United States and locate any coal or oil 
lands set aside by the government. 

15. Draw a map of the United States and on it locate the chief 
mineral supplies of the country ; the lumber regions ; the great reser- 
voirs built by the government. 



196 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

16. Has your state any officials whose business it is to take care of 
the forests? To protect the wild animals and see that they are not 
killed out of season ? 

17. Has your state any laws which protect the birds? If so, find 
out some of the provisions of such laws. How many kinds of birds 
near your home ? Of what use are they ? 

18. How can the pupils of your school help the community to have 
piu'e food ? What is being done in your neighborhood to increase the 
production of food? To conserve the food supply? To protect the 
food supply? 

19. Are there vacant lots in your neighborhood which might be used 
for gardens ? How would you go about it to secure their use ? Make a 
poster urging care in the use of food. 

20. If you live in tlie country write to the Department of Agriculture 
of your state or the federal Department of Agriculture, for bulletins 
which might be of value to farmers in your neighborhood. 



CHAPTER XIII 
GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 

Labor 

The second element that enters into making a living is 
labor, either physical labor or labor with the brain. When 
the country was new, men had to do all kinds of labor. The 
settler had to cut the trees, clear the land, build his house, 
put in his crops, kill game to get leather for his clothing, 
shoe his horse if he were lucky enough to have one, make a 
hand mill to grind his corn ; in short, he had only his own 
efforts and those of his family to keep them from starvation 
(see Chapter I) . His wife and children had to help ; the 
wife spun and wove the yarn into thread and cloth and then 
made the cloth into garments or knit the yarn into stockings. 
She had to make the soap, make the maple sap into sugar, 
make the candles, do all the things for which her strength 
fitted her. The parents had to teach the children, for there 
was not much opportunity to obtain an education, and they 
also gave them what religious education they had, particu- 
larly if they lived far from the settlements. Each was a 
real '' jack-of -all-trades." In the first chapter we saw that 
after a while the miller came, and the blacksmith and the 
shoemaker. Each took some of the burden of labor from the 
early settler. This is known as division of labor, and has 
become the great factor of modern labor to-day. Division 
of labor destroyed the independence of the family and 
made us dependent on one another. 

197 



198 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Division of labor. — As time went on and factories were 
built this division of labor became more noticeable. One 
shoemaker no longer made a shoe, but a shoe was the work of 
a great many hands. Over a hundred different operations 
are now necessary to make one shoe. Other trades show the 
same minuteness of division. A coat is no longer made by 
one person. Even a pin has to go through a great many 
processes and through a great many hands before it is ready 
for use. Such a division of labor makes man dependent 
on man. We are dependent to-day on the efforts of many 
others. If a strike takes place in a machine shop where 
fittings for submarine destroyers are made, and the work is 
slowed up, the enemy submarine is helped and the country 
endangered. If the miner does not get out his proper amount 
of coal in the summer, some one has to suffer in the winter 
or some great manufacturing plant has to close down. If 
he strikes, he throws out of gear the machinery of many 
plants dependent upon him for his labor. We are not 
interested here in the advantages and disadvantages of the 
division of labor, except in so far as it affects our relations 
with other members of the community. But it is easy to 
understand that if each does not do his share in the labor he 
has undertaken, some one else suffers. One does not work 
for himself alone. If the doctor goes away for his enjoy- 
ment and leaves his patients, they may die. If the farmer 
should say that he would raise only such crops as he himself 
needed, the world would starve. This interdependence of 
man upon man is at the bottom of much of our law making 
and of our relation to the government. 

As has been said, such minute division of labor as we have 
to-day came about through the establishment of what we 
know as the factory system. About the middle of the 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 199 

eighteenth century, because of several inventions made by 
some EngKshmen, large buildings for the spinning and weav- 
ing of cloth were erected, and people no longer carried on this 
work to any extent in their homes. This system was intro- 
duced into America in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, and factories sprang up in all parts of the new country 
except the South, where slave labor did not make the system 
profitable. These factories for the housing of labor and 
machinery brought about a great change in labor condi- 
tions. Large manufacturing towns sprang up with all the 
added need for protection, provision for health, and the other 
elements of community welfare. Men, urged on by a desire 
for wealth, began to hire little children to work in the fac- 
tories because they were to be had at a cheap wage. Later 
on, the labor of women was used for the reason that they 
could be hired more cheaply than men and would not fight 
for their rights as men would. The same bad conditions 
which England had faced, soon were found in American fac- 
tories, and, sad to say, all child labor in factories has not 
been done away with yet. What has been done the follow- 
ing sections will tell. 

Child labor. — The Child Labor Committee which was 
organized in 1904 to investigate the conditions surrounding 
children says in one of its reports, "The origin of child 
labor grew out of the sordid desire of employers to secure 
labor at the lowest possible cost regardless of the law or 
nature of man. Certain employers seem to have but the 
one policy, anything for gain." 

Poverty is often an excuse for lazy parents to put their 
children at work so that they will be free of their support. 
Division of labor has made it possible for children to do many 
things in factories which were formerly done by older work- 



200 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



men. Sometimes children become discouraged at school 
and want to go to work. This is a very foolish idea, for the 

uneducated person 
does not have much 
chance of success. 
Nevertheless, many 
boys and girls leave 
school as soon as 
they can to go to 
work. The compul- 
sory education laws 
and their enforce- 
ment are inadequate 
in many states, and 
many children leave 
school when they 
most need to remain 
there. 

In the United 
States to-day there 
are somewhat less 
than 2,000,000 chil- 
dren who are classed 
as laborers, one in 
seven of whom is 
under fourteen years 
of age. About three 
fourths of these work 
on the farms while 
the other fourth are in other industries. '' The danger in 
child labor is often not recognized because of the large pro- 
portion engaged in agriculture, which is considered one of 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee 
Eight-Yeak-Old Newsboys 

What good might come from such labor? 
Do you think the good is greater than the 
evil arising from it? Is there any law gov- 
erning such cases? 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 



201 



the more healthful occupations. Under this heading, how- 
ever, are the children found working in the cranberry bogs, 
in the berry patches and vegetable gardens, and also in the 
canneries. Children in this kind of work often labor under 
conditions which are 
worse than those found 
in the factories." 

Does child labor pay? 
Far from it. Investi- 
gators have proved again 
and again that the family 
wage is not increased by 
it, regardless of the num- 
ber that are wage earners. 
Where the women and 
children become wage 
earners, the whole family 
earns no more than the 
father would earn, were 
prevailing conditions 
such that he was the only 
wage earner of the family. 
In addition to this, child 
labor tends invariably 
to lower the wages of 
older people. Aside from the matter of dollars and cents^ 
child labor does not pay because of the lives it ruins. The 
long hours, unsanitary surroundings, the lack of fresh air 
and sunshine, immoral companions, all tend to weaken the 
children, who, if they are fortunate enough to grow up, 
tend to become old before their time. 

Child labor does not pay because it is not the most efficient 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee 

Child Labor on the Farm 

The boy looks happy, but the work is 
very hard for a boy of twelve years. 
Crates of tomatoes are too heavy for 
children to carry. 



202 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

kind of work. Children, no matter how skillful, cannot do 
as good work as older people. The Child Labor Committee, 
before referred to, sums up the cost of child labor as follows : 

1. It costs the child 

Accidents and disease. 
Lack of education, 
Material and spiritual loss. 

2. It costs industry 

Waste of products, 

Less profit in the long run, 

Lower efficiency of child labor adults. 

3. It costs society 

Wrecked human beings, 
Broken homes, 
Ignorant citizens. 
Possible criminality. 

All of the states have taken steps to put a stop in part, 
at least, to child labor, but not many of them really enforce 
the laws they have made. In four of the states, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, less than 
one per cent of the children from ten to thirteen years of 
age are found to be at work. In other states, nearly half 
of the children of that age are at work. In some states laws 
have been passed which compel children to go to school 
until they are fourteen. In others night work in mines and 
quarries is forbidden for those under fourteen. Some states 
limit the hours during which children may work. In 1916 the 
national government passed a law which would have largely 
restricted child labor throughout the entire country, but 
unfortunately the law was declared by the Supreme Court 
to be imconstitutional. 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 203 

Labor of women. — Added to the evils which arise from 
child labor are those which come from the work of women 
in the industries of the country. In recent years women 
have become workers in greatly increasing numbers. 
Twenty-five years ago about the only occupations open to 
women were teaching and household service. Women were 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee 
Family Working on Patriotic Flag Pins 
What criticism would you make on such work? 



supposed to take care of the home or lead a life of leisure. 
All this- has changed. We now find women entering almost 
all occupations formerly followed by men — those of motor 
car conductor, chauffeur, machinist, as well as the more 
common callings of clerk, stenographer, mill worker, etc. 
In the past workers have been much underpaid, and for 
long hours and small wages have been forced to work in un- 
healthful and unsanitary surroundings by the same sort of 



204 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

profiteers as those who lived on child labor. No attempt 
was made to remedy conditions, because the workers were 
women who were forced to do the work assigned them or 
starve. A low wage " invariably means living under condi- 
tions which are detrimental to health ; . . . the young 
women have, moreover, but little chance for self -betterment." 
To remedy these conditions the hours which women may 
work have been set by the laws of many states. Some 
states prohibit women from being employed at night work, 
insist upon the safeguarding of machinery, require that good 
sanitary conditions must be furnished in the places where 
they work, and specify particularly that seats shall be pro- 
vided so that the workers will not have to stand for long 
periods of time. Within the last few years a number of 
states have passed minimum wage laws. This means that 
no one in any specified trade may receive for her work less 
than the sum stated by the law. 

Clothing and the sweating system. — One evil resulting 
from modern labor has not as yet been satisfactorily con- 
trolled. This is the so-called sweating or sweat-shop labor. 
This kind of labor is found particularly in the clothing trades. 

Clothing is as much a necessity of life as water or food 
not only for our health and comfort, but also for adornment. 
Government has looked after food and water very carefully 
that we may not endanger our health by the use of impure 
food or polluted water. It is not so with the clothing we 
wear. Laws have been passed to forbid the adulteration of 
textiles, and to put a stop to misrepresentation of facts re- 
garding the materials from which our clothes are made. 
Yet the sweat-shop with all its dangers is used in the manu- 
facture of a great amount of clothing. This usually means 
work done in the home for very low wages, by people work- 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 205 

ing under unsanitary conditions and for very long hours. 
By far the greater number of those working in the sweat- 
shops are foreigners, who because of their ignorance and their 
great need of support for themselves and families, are willing 
to work for such small wages. Whole families living in one 
room engage in this work for unbelievably low wages, for 
example, ^' making roses and violets at three to eight cents 




Courtesy of International Harvester Company of America 
Modern Reaper 

Write a composition describing the work of such a reaper as is shown in the 

picture. 

a gross, baby dresses at 45 cents a dozen, willow plumes at 
41 knots for one cent.'' Ignorant of the spread of disease, 
investigators have found garments brought to the home 
to be made, lying on the bed of those ill with contagious 
diseases. " A tailor was found working on a summer over- 
coat in a room in which was a patient ill with the smallpox." 
Children's clothes were made in the same room where children 
were ill with the scarlet fever. Not only are the garments 
made under such conditions a menace to the outside world, 
but the workers themselves are forced to eat, sleep, cook, 



206 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



and v7ork in one or two rooms. Little children of three or 
four years have been found helping by pulling out bastings 
or other such work. In one block alone in New York City, 
there were 77 factories of this sort and 40,000 workers. 
States have attempted to pass laws which would break up 




Courtcsij of InUrnaliunal Harit^Ur ( oi/ipdnu uf America 
Cutting Grain with a Cradle 
Compare this picture with the one on page 209. 



this evil, but thus far have not succeeded very well. Many 
occupations are not prescribed by law, and therefore the 
places where they are carried on are not subject to inspection 
and regulation by the authorities. 

Trade unions. — Workers themselves have remedied 
many of the evils attending modern labor. This is by means 
of what is known as " trade unions." These have been 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 207 

defined as " combinations of working people in given trades. 
. . . Working men and women with no property must 
sell their labor to live. If as individuals they bid against 
each other for jobs, the employer is able to beat wages down. 




Courtesy of International Harvester Comvany of America 
Cutting Grass with a Scythe 
Compare with the picture on page 205. 

If they unite, they have more strength in dealing with em- 
ployers and secure better wages and hours for all." 

The unions have two chief ways in which they may attempt 
to better their conditions, the strike and the boycott, and a 
third might be added to these two, arbitration. The chief of 
these is the strike. This is a concerted refusal on the part 



208 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

• 

of the employees to work unless certain demands they make 
are granted. These demands may be for shorter hours of 
work, more pay, or the remedying of any bad conditions 
in the factory. Sometimes such strikes are accompanied 
by violence, unless the demands of the strikers are complied 
with. However, the leaders usually try to restrain the 
workers from such acts. To preserve order it has sometimes 
been necessary for the governor of the state to call out the 
state militia or to ask for the help of the federal troops. At 
one time President Cleveland was forced to call out the regular 
soldiers of the United States because rioters interfered with 
the carrying of United States mail. About one half of the 
strikes are successful. Strikes are settled either by the two 
parties in the dispute reaching an agreement, or by arbitra- 
tion. Many of the states maintain a Bureau of Mediation 
and Arbitration, the duty of which is to offer its services 
to settle disputes in which labor is concerned. When 
such a grievance is settled by arbitration, each side in 
the dispute chooses one or two to represent it in the 
conference, and those so chosen select one or two more, 
and both sides agree to abide by the decision rendered. 
During the war with Germany, the federal government 
appointed a board to settle disputes between capital and 
labor. 

A boycott is a refusal on the part of a body of people to 
have dealings with some one whom they wish to force to 
comply with their demands. Those carrying out the boycott 
usually try to get others to join with them. The employer 
has as his weapon the '' blacklist," a list of those who are 
prominent in strikes and boycotting. Such a list is placed 
in the hands of all employers, and those on the list are 
refused work. 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 209 




210 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

The Federation of Labor. — The American Federation 
of Labor, the great labor organization, has to-day more than 
two milhon members. It is made up of unions of many 
trades. One writer compares the relations of these unions 
with the great central body of the Federation, to the relation 
of the states with the central government of the nation. 
Among the things which the Federation stands for are an 
eight-hour day and a Saturday half holiday, inspection of 
factories, no child labor, old-age pensions, and more educa- 
tion, particularly vocational education. 



Questions for Investigation 

1. Does either your father or your mother belong to a trade union? 
If so, ask them to tell you the advantages they derive from such member- 
ship ? Are there any disadvantages ? 

2. What is a "union label" ? What is its purpose? 

3. Give examples of division of labor in your home. Is there any 
division of labor in your school? If so, make a report to the class 
concerning it. 

4. What are the laws which your state has passed for the protection 
of children who work? Do your school authorities have anything to 
do with the enforcement of these laws ? If so, what ? 

5. What laws has your state passed for the protection of women who 
are compelled to work ? 

6. What is a "minimum wage" law? Has your state such a law? 
What are its provisions ? 

7. What are some of the causes of unemployment ? 

8. What measures have been taken in your community and your 
state to reduce unemployment ? 

9. What are some of the ways in which unemployment affects the 
individual ? 

10. In what way did the labor of the boy and girl told of in the first 
chapter differ from that of the Indian boys and girls ? From the boys 
and girls of to-day ? 

11. For what reasons is it good for girls and boys to work? Could 
such labor become harmful ? If so, how ? 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 211 

12. What is meant by the "dangerous trades"? Give some ex- 
amples of such trades. What precautions are being taken to make them 
less dangerous ? Have you any such in your community ? 

13. Do you think that men and women should receive ''equal pay 
for equal work"? Why? 



CHAPTER XIV 
GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 

Capital 

The third element in making a living is capital. It has 
been defined as ** that part of wealth used to produce more 
wealth." It is derived from land and labor, yet it is different 
from both. Many things are capital which we do not think 
of as such. The book you study, the microscope which you 
use in the laboratory, the instrument you use in drawing 
are part of your capital if you use them to produce wealth. 
Capital may be in the form of factories or other buildings, 
money, or machinery of any kind. But remember that 
these things must be used to produce more wealth. 

To be most useful, capital must be joined to labor. Just 
as two horses hitched side by side must pull together in 
order to plow the field with a straight furrow, so capital 
and labor must pull together and not in opposite directions 
to get good results. Capital must not try to gain an advan- 
tage over labor, neither must labor try to get the better of 
capital. The greatest amount of wealth is gained for all 
when the three elements are in harmony. In the preceding 
chapter we have studied some of the evils which arise when 
capital tries to get the better of labor, and the destruction 
which labor causes when it tries to overcome capital. The 
only way is for them to work together. 

212 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 213 



Capital and wealth. — We must distinguish carefully be- 
tween the meaning of the words capital and wealth. If the 
wealth is not used to produce something it is not capital. 
The man who spends money foolishly is wasting wealth that 
might be used as capital. The man who saves a hundred 
dollars and then digs a hole and buries it, is not adding to 
capital ; but if he puts the hundred dollars in the bank, 
where it will draw interest, then he is adding to capital. 




Courtesy of T. C. Beagon 



A Salt Mine 
One of the many forms of the use of capital. 

Capital is the result of saving and thrift and of greater 
efficiency in work. If every one spent all he earned, there 
would be nothing with which to increase capital, there would 
be nothing to save for the future. War wastes capital. The 
things which capital and labor together have produced are 
utterly destroyed. One reason why the World War was 
fought was that in the future no nation might dare plan 
to destroy the capital of the world which might be turned 
to good uses. The war taught us how to save instead of 



214 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

destroy, yet many were found who instead of saving, spent 
all of the higher wages received, and in the end were worse off 
than on a smaller income. 

A corporation. — When men go into business now-a-days, 
two or more usually combine their capital and form a com- 
pany or corporation. These corporations are formed some- 
what after the same manner as the trading companies 
which settled America. They went to the king for a charter ; 
the charter stated the place of meeting, the officers and their 
duties, and the powers which the company had. Such a 
trading company was the Massachusetts Bay Company. 
The corporation of the present day must apply to a state 
government for a charter. The president of the corporation 
corresponds to the governor of the company, the vice presi- 
dent to the deputy-governor, the treasurer to the treasurer, 
and the board of directors to the assistants of the trading 
company. The corporation carries on its business in about 
the same manner as the old company. Stock is sold to those 
who wish to buy, and its value fluctuates as it did then. 
Sometimes the stock becomes very valuable, and the in- 
vestors become wealthy ; again many companies have 
nothing but a charter to start on and after getting the 
investors' money the company fails, and all the money is 
lost. Most commonwealths have strict laws which govern 
the formation of companies, and their investments are 
guarded against fraud. Heavy punishments are provided 
for those who promote fraudulent companies. Some states 
are very careful about issuing charters to companies, others 
are not ; and as a company properly chartered in one state 
may do business in another many doubtful corporations 
have been chartered, and much capital has been lost by in- 
vestment in them. 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 215 




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216 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

" Big Business." — The present time is called the era of 
'' big business." The earlier companies had only a small 
amount of capital and only a small amount of business. 
Within recent years capital has begun to combine. The 
earliest form was the ''^ gentleman's agreement," then came 
'' pooling," followed by the ''trust," and then the '' holding 
company." Most of these combinations of capital were 
formed in utter disregard of the rights of others in business. 
Prices were raised, illegal ways of doing business were fol- 
lowed, weaker competitors were ruthlessly crushed, and some 
great corporations became such a menace to the public that 
they were declared illegal by the United States h'upreme 
Court and forced to separate into smaller companies which 
could not smother competition. 

Most states have at the present time anti-trust laws 
which forbid any combinations of capital wh'ch may re- 
strain trade or make a monopoly of any product. This 
means that several corporations may not unite for the pur- 
pose of underselling their opponents to cause them to fail 
or for the purpose of destroying competition. It has been 
difficult to prove that a company has a monopoly of any 
article, and some other method of breaking up the monopoly 
must be found. 

Anti-trust laws. — In 1894 the federal government passed 
what is known as the Sherman Anti-trust law and strength- 
ened it in 1916 by the Clayton Act. By these laws corpora- 
tions are forbidden to do anything which may interfere with 
competition, declaring illegal " the charging of different 
prices in different localities for the purpose of destroying 
local competition." Those who sell goods must be allowed 
to ask any price they choose for them, even though the 
manufacturer wishes to force all who sell goods to have 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 217 

one price. Through the difficulty of proving the formation 
of trusts the anti-trust laws have not been as efficient as 
could be wished. During the war with Germany some of the 
corporations became so powerful that how to control them 
became one of the great problems of government after the 
war. It is competition which makes manufacturers keep 
their profits at a reasonable amount. At the present time 
great corporations have taken the place of the trusts. There 
is a difference between the present giant corporation and the 
previous ones. Those of the present day actually buy out 
their competitors^ while the trusts were combinations of 
companies which placed their business in the hands of 
trustees (whence the name of " trust ^'), who held the stock 
of the different companies and did business for the combina- 
tion. 

Credit. — The great corporations could not do all their 
great amount of business with money, for there is not enough 
for them all to use at once if such a thing became necessary. 
Even if there were, it would be very inconvenient to carry 
a million dollars, even in paper money, to make a payment, 
when such a large amount passes from one corporation to 
another. As it is, many transactions are carried on without 
the use of money at all. This is through the use of credit. 

Let us suppose that before you went to school this morning 
your mother sent you to the grocery store to buy a loaf of 
bread. You receive it from the grocer, and then say, 
'' Charge it, please." The grocer writes in his account book 
that your father owes him for a loaf of bread, and at the end 
of the week or month he renders a bill for the amount that 
has been charged, and your father pays it. This is called 
extending credit to a person. This is possible because he 
knows that your father is an honest man and an upright 



218 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

citizen and that he will pay the bill. If he did not believe 
this, he would refuse to charge the amount and would insist 
on cash for the transaction at the time the exchange was 
made. Because there are many dishonest people, the govern- 
ment protects the grocer. In some states if a man does 
not pay his bills, the law forces him to do so. The good 
citizen always pays his bills, and better yet, if he can, does 
not ask the grocer or other merchant to extend credit, but 
pays cash for all that is bought. 

Credit such as this is the basis of most of the transactions 
in the business world to-day. This is possible because the 
corporations and those with whom they do business, have 
confidence in one another and in their honesty and ability 
to pay. Business has several ways of extending credit, in 
addition to ''charging goods." Sometimes a person gives 
a promissory note, that is, a written promise to pay the sum 
due at a specified time. Such a note usually bears interest. 
The manufacturer has confidence in the ability of the mer- 
chant to pay, or else he would not extend the time necessary 
for the bill to be paid. Government makes it a felony to 
refuse to pay a note of this sort, and the courts will give a 
judgment against one who does refuse. In some states the 
proper officer is permitted to seize enough of the merchant's 
goods to pay the bill. 

Checks. — A check is another means of extending credit. 
Perhaps your father paid his grocer's bill with a check. The 
grocer deposits the check in the bank and then draws another 
check for the goods he has bought of the baker, the baker 
draws a check for the goods he has bought of the miller, and 
so on. It is plainly seen that such a system is a great con- 
venience. If confidence in the ability of any of these men 
to pay is lacking, his check will not be taken. Government 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 219 



is so strict in preserving the confidence which underHes 
credit, that the law has made it a long-term prison offense 
to give a check when there are no funds deposited in 
the bank to make the 
check good, or to forge 
another's name to a 
check, or to alter its 
value. 

Bills of exchange per- 
mit people at a great 
distance to do business 
with one another; for 
example, a merchant in 
London may sell a bill 
of goods to one in San 
Francisco, and receive 
his pay without the actual 
exchange of money. 

Banks. — Banks do 
most of their business on 
credit. They have been 
called "credit factories." 
They are one form of 
corporation which must 
receive a charter from 
the national or a state 
government. 

Those chartered by the national government are known as 
national banks. They must invest part of their capital funds 
in bonds issued by the national government. They are sur- 
rounded with other safeguards by federal law. Such banks 
were formerly permitted to issue the bank notes of which 




Courtesy of Trust Comvany, Geneseo, New York 
A Bank in a Small Community 

Such a bank takes care of the capital of 
a small community. Notice the alarm 
bell on the front of the building, to pro- 
tect the money in the bank. 



220 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

some of the paper money of the present time consists. These, 
however, are gradually being retired, and after 1935 will be 
no longer in circulation. Their place will be taken by the 
notes issued by the Federal Reserve banks. 

State banks receive their charters from their respective 
states, instead of from the national government. State 
laws are becoming more strict in their requirements for 
granting such charters, until now many state banks are as 
rigidly supervised as the national banks. 

All banks are carefully supervised by the government 
through frequent reports which must be made to federal 
and state authorities, and through inspections made by 
officials appointed for the purpose. Thus those who deposit 
their money in the bank may be sure that it will be safely 
taken care of. 

Federal Reserve banks. — In 1913 the federal govern- 
ment instituted what are known as Federal Reserve banks, or 
'' bankers' banks." They were created by Congress to put 
money in circulation, when it is needed. When a crisis 
comes, these banks are permitted to issue notes in exchange 
for securities received from banks which need the money, 
but cannot readily dispose of the securities. These are the 
notes which will finally take the place of those issued by the 
national banks. 

Farm Loan banks. — In 1916 the government also estab- 
lished what are known as Farm Loan banks. These are 
for the purpose of helping farmers who need money to tide 
over a crisis in their financial affairs. For example, the 
western farmers need money at certain times of the year to 
pay their help to get in the crops. They will have plenty 
of money when the crop is sold, but before this is done, 
money is needed. The government, through the Farm Loan 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 221 

bank, loans the farmer the necessary money; the farmer 
gives sufficient property as security for the loan. Such a 
proceeding helps to transfer capital from the city where 
there is much, to the country where there is a less amount, 
and thus stabilizes capital. Such banks are under the control 
of the Federal Farm Loan Board. 

Saving. — In addition to being an institution which 
helps persons to do business easily and quickly, a bank is 
an institution to help us save- money. The good citizen 
tries to put aside capital for future use, so that he may take 
care of himself when the need comes and not be a burden 
to the rest of the community. In addition to the commercial 
banks, as those previously mentioned are known, because they 
confine their business largely to business men, there are what 
are termed savings banks. Such corporations make a spe- 
cialty of receiving the savings of those who wish to lay aside 
money, and they pay a reasonable amount of interest for the 
use of the money deposited. Such banks encourage thrift. 
Some schools have savings banks in which small sums may 
be deposited, and then a deposit is usually made in a regular 
savings bank. At certain designated post-offices the national 
government has what are known as Postal Savings banks. 
These pay only a small amount of interest, but many prefer 
this means of saving as a smaller amount is accepted here 
than in the regular savings banks. It is also considered 
a safer investment to place money here than in the regular 
banks. Foreigners who do not fully understand the ways 
of finance in this country use them to a large extent. During 
the Great War we heard a great deal about war savings 
stamps and thrift stamps, and Liberty bonds. These were 
sold in small amounts, so that they were in reach of every 
one. They taught Americans a much-needed lesson, a 



222 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

lesson of saving, a lesson about which very many people in 
this country knew nothing. 

Insurance. — Another method of saving is through insur- 
ance. Corporations are formed which upon payment of a cer- 
tain amount of money will pay a specified sum upon the death 
of the one insured or in case of his sickness or accident to him. 
Regular payments must be made each year to keep up the in- 
surance. When one knows that the payment must be made, 
provision is made for it, and so the money is saved. At the 
end of a certain time the policy, that is, the agreement between 
the company and the insured, is good for a certain sum ; it 
may be taken in cash or in more insurance. A fire insurance 
company insures buildings and property against loss by fire. 
The system saves many thousands of dollars each year. The 
small sum paid each year will save large sums if loss does 
come. 

Business and good citizenship. — What you have read 
about getting a living should show us how careful a person 
must be about choosing a vocation or business. It is choos- 
ing the right one that makes the three elements of wealth 
work most closely together. There are so many people 
trying to make a living that the highest type of citizenship 
is often found among those who are the best business men. 
Those men who gave up their large incomes, some of them 
giving up many thousands of dollars a year, and went to 
work for the government at one dollar a year to help in a 
great national crisis, had learned what good citizenship 
means. They put their trained minds to the country's 
service with no thought of reward. The men who left their 
business, no matter what it was, and went to serve their 
country in any of its varied branches were good citizens. 
They gave back to the great community of the nation what 



GOVERNMENT AND MAKING A LIVING 223 

it had done for them. That is the highest type of good 
citizenship. Those women, many of them reared in luxury, 
who went to the hospital service in France or to, other service, 
doing the dirty work of the hospitals and other menial 
labor, knew what it meant to be good citizens. Devotion 
to the public service makes a business man willing to take 
some part in the government of his community, either by 
holding office or by serving on some board where he may be 
of help. 

Questions for Investigation / 

1. What capital have you ? How is it used to produce more wealth ? 

2. Tell the story of the sale of war savings stamps and thrift 
stamps in your school. 

3. What are some of the laws which your state has passed against 
the sale of fraudulent shares of stock in corporations ? 

4. Is your state careful in the matter of issuing charters to corpora- 
tions ? If not, why ? 

5. Why do some merchants consider it a better plan to sell for cash 
than for credit ? 

6. At which place would you probably buy articles more cheaply, 
at one which sells for cash or at one which extends credit ? Why ? 

7. What are the advantages of buying on credit ? What are the dis- 
advantages ? Draw some conclusions, ■ 

8. Write a check in favor of your teacher for four dollars twenty- 
five cents. 

9. Read what is printed on the face of a Federal Reserve bank bill. 
Make a report to the class as to what is printed. 

10. To which district of the Federal Reserve bank do the banks of 
your locality belong? Where is the Federal Reserve bank of your 
district located ? 

11. What methods of saving money do you employ? Have you a 
bank account ? Why do you have one ? 

12. Is your life insured ? Why is this a good way of saving money ? 

13. Read the insurance policy on your parents' home or property. 
What permits does the policy carry ? 

14. What different kinds of insurance are there ? Do you have any 
except against fire ? If so, what ? 



CHAPTER XV 
BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 

A noted English author, John Ruskin, has said, " The 
exterior of your home is not private property." By this 
he means that though the place where you live may be yours, 
and what you may have and do inside your home is your own 
concern, the outside has an effect upon every one who sees 
it. If the surroundings of your home are beautiful, or if 
they are neatly kept, — and neatness is one of the best forms 
of beauty, — it has an influence on those who live near you 
and on those who pass by. 

Beauty in colonial homes. — When the New England 
colonists built their homes there was not much time for 
adornment. Shelter from the winter storms and from the 
attacks of the Indians was more necessary than beauty. 
Again, the Puritan settlers thought any attempt to adorn the 
home and its surroundings was to show a love for worldly 
things, a deadly sin. Not only the homes, but also the 
churches, were severely plain, having no adornment whatever. 

The Hollanders who settled in New York, built their homes 
with an idea of permanency, building solidly with not much 
attempt at ornament. Yet the hardy Dutch settlers brought 
with them from their home country a love for flowers which 
led them to adorn their surroundings with flower gardens 
and shrubbery. These gardens added much to the beauty 
of the Dutch towns. 

The Cavaliers who came to Virginia and the other South- 

224 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 



225 



ern colonies, came from some of the beautiful English homes. 
These they tried to copy when they built their homes in the 
new world. They remembered the wide lawns and the 
beautiful gardens of old England, and in so far as they could 
transplanted the beauty of their mother country to the 
struggling colonies. 





Courtesy of W. A. Gately 



The Stone House near Livingston 



This colonial home was built 150 years ago. Its walls are 18 inches thick. 
Notice the north wall has only two small windows. Why ? 

Beautifying modern homes. — It is not, however, until 
comparatively recent times that general attention in America 
has been turned toward the adorning of whole streets of 
homes by a concerted effort and plan. Beautifying a home 
may mean keeping the house and its surroundings clean. 
It may mean painting the house, or adorning it with 
boxes of flowers, shrubbery, and vines. To the end that 
there may be concerted action in cleaning up, municipalities 



226 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



have set aside the ^' clean-up days/' which have been men- 
tioned, in which with the assistance of the authorities, the 
rubbish and debris which has accumulated about a home, 
may be cleaned up and carted away. This helps to make 
a city more beautiful. In some cities, a holiday is given 




Courtesy of National Cash Register Company 
A Badly Kept Street 
Compare this picture with the one of the same street opposite. 

to all the children in the city schools, that they may help 
clean up. 

In foreign countries, Belgium, Holland, France, and Eng- 
land, for many years the householders have decorated the 
fronts of their houses with window boxes of bright flowers 
and graceful vines. Great pride has been taken in having 
the best display. To encourage rivalry, the different munic- 
ipal governments have offered prizes to those whose dis- 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 227 

play was the most artistic, or to those who put forth the 
most effort to remedy the unsightly appearance of the homes. 
Those which bring so much beauty to the dull, dreary street 
walls of London, are evidences of what may be accomplished 
by all working together for one object. 




Cuurtesy of National Cash Register Company 
The Same Street after It Had Been Beautified 

During recent years, the towns and cities of the United 
States have been working along the same lines as the Euro- 
pean cities. Unsightly homes have been cleaned up. Win- 
dow boxes bloom from the window sills of many homes. 
Rubbish has been cleared away. The municipalities have 
taken on new beauty. In a recent competition offered by 
an American city for the best window boxes, the first prize 
was won by a window box display on a ramshackle old 



228 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

tenement. The boxes were made from old soap boxes, but 
the flowers were tended by loving hands and were an object 
lesson in civic ideals to all who saw them. It has been said 
that such ellorts " steal at least some hardness and monotony 
from close-set residence streets and make a fringe of waver- 
ing delicacy in the angle of pavement and wall." 

Beauty in Dayton, Ohio. — A very notable example of 
what may be done by concerted effort to make the outside 
of homes a credit to the city has been accomplished in Dayton, 
Ohio. " Here a manufacturing company moved into a 
squalid neighborhood, and beautified its own grounds, 
ornamenting them on plans furnished by an expert land- 
scape gardener. The whole neighborhood was so influenced 
by the example and by the company's offer of liberal prizes 
for the best front and back yards, window boxes, and porches, 
as to be redeemed very shortly. Indeed the claim is made 
that the street on which most of the employees live, is, con- 
sidering the length and the cost of the houses, the prettiest 
street in the world." 

The beauty of lawns. — There is nothing which adds 
more to the beauty of a town than well-kept lawns. Some- 
times boys who are set by their parents to take care of the 
lawn and weed the flower beds, feel that it is very hard work, 
and do not wish to do it. Did these boys ever stop to think 
that they are doing something not only for their parents, but 
also for themselves and for the whole community ? Did 
they ever stop to think that they are learning the first 
principles of good citizenship ? It is the good citizen who 
is proud of his home and its surroundings, and it is the 
poor citizen who is willing to live in a dirty, ill-kept home. 
Suppose all the lawns were without care, overrun with 
Weeds and with the grass uncut, — how would you like 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 



229 



to live in a city where there was such a condition of 
affairs ? 

The back yard. — If it is fitting to keep the front of the 
house in fine condition, what shall be done with the back 
yard ? It is more often in the back yard than in front of 
the house, that bad citizenship is to be seen. In cities 




Courtesy of Saitee F. Baumann 



A Back Yard Garden 

Write a composition about your garden, or about the one you would like to 

have. 



particularly, the back yard is of small area, often given over 
to an accumulation of ashes, tin cans, and other rubbish, the 
breeding place of disease. It takes but a little time each day 
on the part of the boys and girls of the family to clean out 
the heaps of dirt and turn the back yard into a thing of 
beauty. Effort alone is needed, not money. Many boys and 
girls have turned these unattractive spots into gardens, and 
those who have a vegetable garden contribute considerably 



230 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

to the support of the home by the amount of food that may 
be raised in a back yard. Others prefer a flower garden, 
and so make of the formerly unsightly heaps, a thing of 
beauty. 

Beauty in the schools. — People to-day are not only 
trying to make their homes more attractive, both inside and 
out, but they are giving attention to the beautifying of school 
buildings and grounds. Formerly it was thought that any 
location was good enough for a school provided it could be 
bought cheaply. Any sort of architecture was suitable 
as long as the building protected the children from the 
weather and had a sufficient number of seats for them. 
To-day when a school is built, if it is possible, a large plot 
of ground is purchased in one of the best sections of the 
community. The architects who are asked to draw up the 
plans for the new building try to adapt the building to the 
location and make the whole a thing of beauty. Land- 
scape gardeners are called in to advise as to the laying out 
of the grounds so that the whole effect may be pleasing 
and harmonious. The interior is arranged not only for 
usefulness, but so that its beauty may make an impression 
upon those who study there. The walls are tinted a pleas- 
ing color, pictures and statuary are placed in the rooms 
and halls, flowers and growing plants decorate the windows. 

What part do the boys and girls have in all this ? Since 
the school authorities have taken so much pains to give 
beautiful surroundings to the pupils, they should make the 
best use possible of what is provided. Everything is made 
easy for study. The seats are comfortable, the ventilation 
is good, and everywhere one looks upon something of beauty. 
Second, the boys and girls should be so proud of their school, 
that they will take care of what is provided for them and not 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 231 

destroy its beauty. Strange to say we sometimes find chalk 
marks or pencil marks on the walls of a beautiful school 
building and ink spots on the desks and floors. Papers are 
scattered about the lawn for some one else to clean up. 
Ought this to be ? Think it over, and see what is your 
part in making your school a more beautiful part of your 
community. 

How cities grew ugly. — As cities began to grow it became 
more difficult to keep them beautiful. The buildings in the 
business section were crowded together, the streets were 
filled with traffic, and the pavements were worn and more 
difficult to keep clean. The trees were killed by the 
gases and smoke from the factories. Ugly telegraph and 
telephone poles were erected, and the trolley companies 
stretched their wires through the street. Often, too, the 
kind of people who lived in the houses changed, and many 
beautiful places were given over to ugly tenements such as 
you read about in a previous chapter, whose owners did not 
care for anything except the money they might receive. 
Dirt and refuse accumulated, and where there were once 
stately houses and wide lawns, there were garbage cans and 
heaps of ashes thrown out by careless tenants. What can 
a city do under such conditions ? What part have the boys 
and girls in restoring to their town something of its former 
beauty ? 

How a city may beautify itself. — First of all it is the 
business of the city to lay good pavements so that the traffic 
in the streets may be taken care of as easily as possible and 
the street may be properly cleaned. Dirt is always ugly. 
It is the duty of the boys and girls who use the streets to 
help keep them clean. A street may be beautiful because it 
is clean. When the pockets are full of paper in the school- 



232 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



room it is well to remember that there are places provided 
to put waste paper, and not throw it in the street. Remem- 
ber that your rights extend only so far as they do not inter- 
fere with the rights of others. The city maintains a force 
of men to keep the streets clean, and boys and girls can do 
their share in helping by being careful in this matter. Some 




Courtesy of National Cash Register Comvany 
A Back Yard before Beautifying 



cities have gone yet farther, by appointing a sanitary squad 
from the young people, who go about the city and see that 
it is kept clean, that garbage cans are emptied and taken 
care of, and that rubbish is cleared from unsightly places. 

One of the greatest problems that a city has to solve is 
that of trying to overcome and do away with the ugliness 
that has become so manifest in many communities. By 
city ordinances the telegraph and telephone companies are 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 



233 



forced to place their wires underground. The trolley com- 
panies place their wires underground or receive per- 
mission from owners to fasten their wires to the walls of the 
buildings along the streets, thus doing away with their un- 
sightly poles. The electric light poles are replaced by an 
artistic light or group of lights on a handsome bronze standard. 




fuurtesy of National Cash Ri(ji\ttr Company 

The Same Back Yard after Beautifying 



The unsightly gas lamps with their flaring jets are replaced 
by a frosted globe placed on a handsome standard. 

Billboards. — One of the ugliest features of our cities 
and countryside is the billboard. Merchants must adver- 
tise their wares, and this has given rise to the posting of 
advertisements on every available place. A fine, old 
tree with a great board nailed to it advertising somebody's 
soap seems to look ashamed. You wish to enjoy a beautiful 



234 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



landscape and you are confronted by a mammoth advertising 
sign. You ride along a beautiful village street, and you are 
confronted here and there by dilapidated billboards. Boys 
and girls often add to the unsightliness by marking with 
chalk or pencil on the already hideous boards. So great a 
nuisance has this method of advertising become, that many 
towns have passed ordinances forbidding the erection of bill- 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
Tree-Lined Avenue, Tree-Arched Streets 

boards within the limits of the municipality and requiring 
the removal of those already erected. The warning, " Post 
no bills," is often seen on the vacant space of a wall. This 
has been placed there to forbid the placing of any posters 
on its surface. The disregarding of this warning is punish- 
able by law. 

Trees and their uses. — It is pleasant to turn from the 
consideration of such ugly things as we have been reading of, 
to one of more beauty. Every one can see the beauty of a 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 



235 



tree, and every one can enjoy its shade. Any community 
which has trees may be sure that it has some beauty. '^ Tree- 
Hned avenues, tree-arched streets, the play of light and 
shadow on the pavement, the screening of the sun's glare 
upon walk and window, the lovely chronicle of the season's 
progress as it is written on the tree where all can read it, 
are factors of beauty universal in appeal." So important 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
**Be Aye Stickin' in a Bit Tree" 
Planting young trees on the Wasatch National Forest, Utah. 

are these factors considered in some countries, that citizens 
are forbidden to cut down a tree without planting another 
in its place. The advice given by an old Scotch laird to his 
son was : "Be aye [always] stickin' in a bit tree. The tree 
will be growin' when ye are sleepin'." The old Scotchman's 
advice has been followed by many societies which have been 
formed to encourage the planting of trees. Prizes have been 
offered by many of these societies to those who plant trees, 



236 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

or the trees are given by the society to any who will plant 
them. Arbor Day, a legal holiday in many states, is a day 
set apart by the state governments for '' stickin' in a bit tree/' 
It ought to be patriotically observed in all communities. 

Not only is it necessary to plant trees, but it is necessary 
to take care of them after they have been planted, and to 
protect them from the ravages of insects. The elm trees 
of many towns were in danger of being destroyed until the 
local and state authorities began to take care of them and 
wage a ceaseless war on the beetles which were killing them. 
The chestnut blight has destroyed thousands of chestnut 
trees, and the officials where the disease is raging are trying 
to control it. The caterpillar ravaged the trees of many 
communities, and the services of the boys and girls were 
enlisted. The local governments offered prizes to the ones 
who would destroy the greatest number of the pests, and so 
great was the enthusiasm of the children that the worms were 
destroyed and the trees saved. Before boys and girls care- 
lessly hurt a tree, they should think of the words of the great 
writer quoted under the frontispiece of this book : " What 
a thought it was when God thought of a tree." 

There are other ways in which the planting of trees helps 
a city besides making it beautiful. Trees not only cool the 
air, but they purify it by absorbing poisonous gases and giving 
forth oxygen. They tend to absorb any surplus water in 
the soil that might make basements damp. They are 
worth actual money to a community also, for people remain 
longer in summer in the towns that are well planted with 
trees. 

Removal of the tenements. — When a city begins to plan 
for civic beauty, one of the first places that is given attention 
is the tenement district (see Chapter II) . Such planning by 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 237 

the government has a great effect upon boys and girls. A 
built-over tenement district ''gives the boys and girls a chance 
to work off their energy in harmless amusements, renders their 
homes more pleasant, and helps to satisfy the longing for 
brightness, entertainment, and fellowship, without throwing 
them into temptation." If abundance of fresh air and sun- 
shine is let into living and sleeping rooms, many of the 
hardest problems of a city will be solved. The juvenile 
court would not have enough business to keep it open. 
Some one has said that at the present time "if the tene- 
ments were made more attractive, there would be more of 
manliness, there would be purer souls, because there would 
be less of temptation ; there would be stronger minds because 
there \^ould be stronger bodies. Out of the evil conditions 
of the slum grow our greatest political evils. Here 
^ smoulders the fire which breaks forth in revolution.' " 

Solving the tenement question. — In Europe again we 
find the first systematic attempts to solve the problem of 
doing away with the tenement and yet give people a 
beautiful home at a moderate rental. On the outer rim of 
many cities in England, model towns have been established, 
a striking example of which is the model town at Port Sun- 
light. Here are model houses and gardens at a moderate 
price. More recently similar attempts have been made in 
America, and such communities are found near Pittsburg and 
Detroit, and there is one at Dayton, of which you have read. 
This movement is made possible by our modern means of 
transportation. Interurban trolleys, automobiles, and the 
fast steam and electric trains have given hope that some 
day the slum may be entirely banished. Such homes as 
those of the model towns are based on the recognition of the 
fact that the laborer is a better workman if his home is a 



238 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

pleasant one. If his surroundings are beautiful, he is more 
of a man and less of a machine, and therefore a better 
citizen. 

City planning. — Many cities and villages are making defi- 
nite plans for their improvement, either through their own 
local governments or through local improvement associations. 
Money is appropriated for the purchase and destruction of 
unsightly buildings and for the erection of more artistic 
ones in their place. Streets leading to a community are 
made clean, and good pavements are laid, so that the entrance 
to it may be beautiful. When bridges are built, some atten- 
tion is paid to their artistic side as well as to their usefulness. 
Statues of prominent men, or monuments in commemoration 
of some historic event are erected either by popular sub- 
scription or by appropriations from the municipal treasury. 

Not only must communities have clean streets, trees, park- 
ways, and the care necessary to keep them in fine condition, 
but it must take care that nothing is allowed to spoil the 
beauty which it already has. It must go farther than doing 
away with billboards and ugly poles. It must forbid the 
use of soft coal by engines and factories which send 
forth a grimy black smoke. Many communities force the 
owners of vacant lots to keep them free from weeds, which 
not only are unsightly, but menace the beautiful lawns of 
those who live near by. Ordinances are passed to do away 
with unnecessary noises. The cries of street venders, the 
loud ringing of bells, the blowing of shrill blasts by railroad 
engines, the squawking and hooting of automobiles are for- 
bidden. Any one who permits an animal to mutilate a tree, 
or who does so himself, is punished. Those who deface or 
mark any public or private building are punishable by fine 
or imprisonment, or both. 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 



239 



Help from boys and girls. — Perhaps there is nothing in 
which boys and girls may be so useful to a community as in 
trying to make it beautiful. If every person takes care not to 
deface a city and to make his own home beautiful, then the 
whole community is beautified. If only one person on a 
street makes no attempt to take care of his home, that home is 




A Child's Garden 



Cuurleay of Saitee F. Baumann 



noticeable at once. " Children have been a large factor in 
many communities in the work of school and home gardening 
and in neighborhood beautification of various kinds." Chil- 
dren of a dozen different nationalities decided to make a 
park in one of the most thickly settled parts of Pittsburg. 
A dingy, barren hill was chosen, but the young people without 
aid from any one, laid out the garden, bricked the walks, 
planted the flower beds, and in fact did everything that 



240 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

was done. '' They cleared the hillside of several tons of 
rubbish and carried it away to the banks of the river. The 
mayor of the city loaned the boys some park benches, which 
were placed under the brush and the sumac bushes which 
grew on the hillside. On top of the hill the boys with picks, 
shovels, and wheelbarrows borrowed from the park depart- 
ment of the city government, cleared and levelled a large 
tract of ground for a baseball diamond." The boys and 
girls have named their new recreation center, '' Jitney 
Park." 

The beautifying of a city has been likened to ^' a fire built 
upon the market place, where every one may light his torch." 
Each will be induced to make his own place beautiful, spurred 
on by the efforts of others and the encouragement of the com- 
munity. The motto taken by one of the many societies for 
the artistic improvement of communities is one which might 
be adopted by the boys and girls of any town : "To make us 
love our city, we must make our city lovely." 

Questions for Investigation 

1. Does your community have a "Clean-up" week? Why is it a 
good idea to have such a period for the whole community ? 

2. What does your state do to help forward the work of planting 
trees ? What officials of the state have this matter in charge ? 

3. Why should a community insist that a new tree should be put in 
place of each one cut down ? 

4. What societies are there in your community which foster civic 
pride and civic beauty by offering prizes for gardens or beautiful 
places ? 

5. What official has your community who looks after the tearing 
down of old buildings or the cleaning up of empty lots? How is he 
chosen ? 

6. What ordinance has your community concerning the care of 
vacant lots? Is this ordinance enforced? Why should such an ordi- 
nance be passed ? 



BEAUTY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 241 

7. What power has a community concerning overhead wires, if 
they destroy the beauty of the streets ? 

8. Should Niagara Falls, one of the beauty spots of the world, be 
turned into water power to give electricity to many communities? 
Why? 

9. Make a list of definite improvements that you think would im- 
prove the beauty of your community ? 

10. If your community has a water front, make definite suggestions 
for its improvement. 

11. What is the condition of yom* back yard ? What can you do to 
improve it? 

12. What natiu-al scenery has your community? Has it been 
liarmed in any way? What can be done to restore it to its original 
beauty? 

13. What does your community do to remove annoyances caused by 
smoke, noise, or other things which destroy its beauty ? 

14. What has your community done to remove the billboard nui- 
sance ? What can you do to help in this matter ? 

15. What is the actual money value of beauty to a community? 

16. Are there marks on the walls, desks, or the outside of your 
school building? Who is responsible for the care of your building? 
What is your duty as a citizen in this matter ? 

17. Is your school a "benediction of beauty" upon the community? 
How might your school grounds be improved? 

18. Have a *' clean-up" day. Six weeks after make a poster with 
this quotation : 

"How nice we looked six weeks ago ! 
How do we look to-day ? " 



CHAPTER XVr 
THE GOVERNMENT OF A SMALL COMMUNITY 

In the study of the activities which go on about us and 
of which we are a part, you must have noticed that reference 
was constantly made to government and different officials 
of government. It is very evident that all the inhabitants 
of a large city, such as New York, could not meet together 
in one place to make laws for the guidance of their com- 
munity ; neither could the inhabitants of a small town come 
together to enforce order or to settle judicial disputes. Con- 
sequently the people choose certain ones of their number 
to do this for them. These officials and the authority given 
them, by which they make rules for our conduct and punish 
those who disobey the laws, we know as government. In 
addition, government looks after the activities about which 
we have studied. This government we speak of is no more 
the city, the village, the state, or the nation " than the heart 
or the lungs of an animal, are the animal. The government 
is the chief set of organs of the community, the agent which 
carries out its will." 

Functions of government. — We have found out that 
government has certain things to do. Woodrow Wilson, in 
his book The State, gives a long list of these functions of 
government. Among those that he mentions are protection, 
the care of property and its transfer, the definition and the 
punishment of crime, the determination of the political 

242 



THE GOVERNMENT OF A SMALL COMMUNITY 243 




244 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

duties and privileges of citizens, the regulation of trade and 
industry, labor, transportation and communication, health, 
education, and care of the poor and incapable. In addition 
to these there are many other functions of government. 

In our study thus far we have found that government 
falls readily into four kinds, local, county, state, and national. 
All of these kinds of government do not perform all the func- 
tions mentioned above, but all of them do perform many. 
Some duties are assigned to one particular form of government. 
For example, all forms protect us (see Chapter V), and look 
after our health (see Chapter IV), while our relations with 
foreign governments are looked after by the national govern- 
ment alone (see Chapter XXI). When the community is a 
small one there is no need for many officials to carry on the 
activities of government. When the colonists met in their 
town meeting they delegated their powers to a few officials. 

The town. — The settlement of which we read in the first 
chapter might have been one of the early settlements in New 
England. In this section of the country the local forms of 
government were different, as we shall see, from those which 
sprung up in Virginia or New York. In New England the 
local unit was the town. For several reasons the settlers 
who came to this part of America settled close together. 

(1) They usually came in bands of men, women, and chil- 
dren, all of whom belonged to the same local community 
in England, and who brought with them their local minister. 
This bond led them to settle near each other in order that 
they might have the same church and listen to the preaching 
of the same pastor. 

(2) People settled in a compact community for protection 
from the Indians. 

(3) The soil was not very good, and the farms were small ; 



THE GOVERNMENT OF A SMALL COMMUNITY 245 

therefore the settlers were near neighbors. Those who did 
not have farms engaged in fishing or in commerce, which 
naturally tended to keep the settlers together. 

For these reasons there were many little settlements 
throughout the New England colonies. As the settlers 
came to America for political as well as religious freedom, 
it was quite natural that each one should wish to have a 
part in the government and business of the settlement, and in 
regulating the local affairs of the community. Afterward 
these little communities banded together into larger units. 

The town meeting. — The men of the settlement usually 
held at least one meeting a year to attend to the business of 
the town. Different customs in different localities gave the 
right to vote at these meetings. In some only church mem- 
bers could vote ; in others a certain amount of property was 
necessary. At this meeting all the affairs of the town were 
regulated. For example, in one of the old town records we 
read, " The men's seats in the body of the meeting-house 
shall be enlarged to the women's seats, and the space be- 
tween Judge Jamison's heirs and Lieut. Steam's pew be 
divided and added to their pews, they consenting and that 
the doors to their pews be made to come out in the hind 
alley, and that men and women be placed in each of these 
pews by the committee for seating the meeting-house." 
Another example of how closely the affairs of the town were 
regulated by the town meeting, is this law found in the 
record of another town : '^ It is ordered that all doggs, for 
the space of three weeks after the publishinge hereof shall 
have one legg tied up. . . . If a man refuse to tye up his 
dogg's legg, and he be found scraping up fish in the corne 
field, the owner shall pay 12^. beside whatever damage the 
dogg doth." The modern town meeting, though its laws do 



246 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

not touch on such amusing points as the above, attends to 
all the local legislation that is necessary. 

Every spring, October in Connecticut, the inhabitants 
of each New England town, except in cities, meet together 
to transact whatever business may be necessary for carrying 
on local affairs. The meeting elects officers for the coming 
year, it decides on the amount of money needful for carrying 
on the business of the town, and passes whatever regula- 
tions may be necessary for the well-being of the inhabitants. 
Among the laws which it enacts are those relating to schools, 
roads, relief of the poor, and whatever regulations may be 
necessary for the health of the community. 

The principal officers elected are the selectmen, numbering 
from three to nine, according to the size of the town and 
the business to be looked after. Their duty is to carry out 
the laws passed by the town meeting. In addition to the 
selectmen, are the clerk, who keeps the records of the town, 
the treasurer, who takes care of the town's money and pays 
out whatever is necessary, the constables, justices of the 
peace, and many others. So many officials are chosen in 
some towns that almost every one may look forward to hold- 
ing office. In one Massachusetts town of eighty-two in- 
habitants, there are eighteen officials. Many of these minor 
officials have queer titles, such as hog reeve, fence viewers, 
etc., which have come down from colonial times, and they 
serve without pay. 

This form of government is the most truly democratic 
of any that we have, for here the people themselves meet to 
make the laws. John Fiske, the noted American historian, 
has said, '' It has one advantage over all other kinds of gov- 
ernment, in so far as it tends to make every man feel that the 
business of government is part of his own business, and that 



THE GOVERNMENT OF A SMALL COMMUNITY 247 

where he has a stake in the management of affairs, he has 
also a voice." Thomas Jefferson was so impressed with the 
value of town government that he wrote that '' they have 
proved themselves the wisest invention ever devised by the 
wit of man for the perfect exercise of self government and for 
its preservation." 

The officers chosen are directly responsible to the people 
who choose them. At the end of a year, for the town meet- 
ing is held annually and most of the officials are chosen for 
one year, any unfaithful public servant may be replaced 
by a new one. On the other hand those who serve faith- 
fully may be kept in office. There are records of some towns 
which show the names of officials who have served their 
fellow citizens for thirty and even for forty years. 

County government. — Let us turn from this form of local 
government to another which grew up in Virginia and the 
other southern colonies. This form is known as county 
government. In Virginia the conditions of settlement were 
much different from those in New England. 

(1) The settlers who came here found the soil rich and 
fitted for agriculture. Because of this and because the main 
crop was tobacco, the land was settled in large plantations, 
since the settlers took grants of many acres. 

(2) The rivers went far up into the country and were so 
deep as to make it possible for a plantation owner to load 
his produce from a wharf on his own plantation. The 
ship which took away his tobacco brought the goods that 
he and his family needed, and a center of trade was not 
required. 

(3) The Indians of this section were not hostile to the early 
settlers as they were in New England ; therefore it was not 
necessary for the settlers to live close together. 



248 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Because of these conditions, when it became necessary 
for some unit to be made for carrying on the government 
of any locaUty, the one with which the colonists were most 
famihar in old England, the county, was chosen. The 
country was divided into large sections similar to those at 
home and the same name of county was given them. These 
divisions became the unit of government in Virginia and 
other southern colonies and have remained so until to-day. 
When these colonies became states, although some of them 
tried to form towns by law, yet the county remained about 
the same as it was during colonial times, and the officials 
chosen bear the colonial titles as those in New England did. 

Instead of all the people meeting together to perform the 
duties of carrying on the business of the locality, certain 
ones are elected by the people of the county to do it. Mr. 
Fiske says, " An assembly of all the inhabitants of a county 
for the purpose of local government is out of the question. 
There must be representative government, and for this 
purpose the county system has furnished the needful machin- 
ery." '' There are many points which can be much better 
decided in small representative bodies than in large mis- 
cellaneous meetings." 

The board of supervisors. — These chosen representatives 
are called by different names in different states, the board 
of supervisors, the county board, or the county commissioners. 
Their number varies in different states, as does the manner 
of choosing them. In general the duties of this body are 
to take care of the county buildings such as the courthouse, 
jail, hospital, poorhouse, etc. It makes the laws for the 
county and appoints some of the officials. In some states 
this body has charge of the place where votes are cast and 
attends to the printing of the ballots for the elections. The 



THE GOVERNMENT OF A SMALL COMMUNITY 249 

chief difference between the board elected by the county 
and tlie selectmen chosen by the New England town meeting 
is that the county board has more power than the select- 
men, as they only carry out the wishes of the people as ex- 
pressed at the town meeting, while the board may do things 
on its own initiative. 

Executive officers of the county. — The chief executive 
officer of the county is the sheriff. Every county in the 
United States has a sheriff elected by the people of the 
county, except in Rhode Island, where he is chosen by the 
legislature. He has charge of the county jail and its in- 
mates. He has more power than other county officials, in 
that he is able to call out the posse comitatus. The posse 
includes all able-bodied men in the county, who are called 
upon to serve in case of rioting or other disorder in the 
count}^ The term for which the sheriff is chosen is two 
years in a majority of the states, and in some he is not 
allowed reelection for a term Immediately following. 

One of the interesting duties of one of the Massachusetts 
sheriffs, handed down from colonial times, is to precede the 
procession of graduates and underclassmen at commence- 
ment at Williams College. Clad in his high hat and " swallow- 
tail" coat, and bearing his wand of office, he is a very impos- 
ing figure. 

In most states the counties have a county treasurer who 
takes care of the money of the county, as the town treasurer 
takes care of the money of the town. Many have assessors 
to fix the value of the property of the county that taxes may 
be levied. Some have coroners who investigate cases of 
sudden death where crime may be involved, and if necessary 
hold the accused for trial. The judicial affairs of the county 
are in the hands of a county judge. In some states there is 



250 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

another judge, called by different titles in different counties, 
who looks after the estates of deceased persons. 

Powers of the county. — Both town and county are 
divisions of the state for the easy administration of state 
laws and for putting into effect whatever local laws the 
state permits them to pass. The powers of the county have 
been summed up as follows : '' In most states it is the duty 
of the county to preserve peace ; administer justice ; dis- 
tribute the property of deceased persons; register titles to 
land ; maintain schools ; build, repair, and maintain roads 
and bridges ; care for the poor ; collect local, county, and 
state taxes, and expend the county portion of these taxes in 
the performance of the county functions just enumerated." 

The New England county is not of great importance. It 
is simply a district for the administration of justice, since all 
other local governing duties are performed by the towns. 

The compromise type of local government. — In addition 
to the town and the county systems of local government, 
there is a third form, a combination of the two. This is 
known as the mixed or compromise type of local govern- 
ment. It is found particularly in New York and Pennsyl- 
vania, and in many western states which have been settled 
by people from the east. How the type arose will be 
readily understood from what took place in New York. 
Settlements sprang up here as in New England. However, 
in the early part of the eighteenth century, in order to carry 
out the laws of the colony better, it became necessary to 
divide the colony into ten counties. One man, known as a 
supervisor, was chosen from each town to meet with the 
representatives from the other towns in the county to super- 
vise the business of the new division. To-day a man is 
chosen from each town, and if there is a city within the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF A SMALL COMMUNITY 251 

boundaries of the county, one from each ward of the city. 
These constitute the board of supervisors. The towns some- 
times still hold meetings as they do in New England to trans- 
act the town business, but the board of supervisors also 
has control of some matters pertaining to the towns. 

In Pennsylvania this system differs from that of New 
York, for the representatives are chosen from the county as 
a whole, instead of one from each town. The representatives 
are three in number, and are known as the '' board of com- 
missioners." Their duties are similar to those of the super- 
visors in New York. 

Powers of local government. — The powers which are 
granted to the different forms of local government, though 
they are not the same in all states, have been summed up as 
follows : ' 

" (1) it preserves the peace and good order of the com- 
munity ; 

(2) it cares for the public health ; 

(3) it supports the public schools ; 

(4) it helps the poor and unfortunate ; 

(5) it assesses and collects taxes ; 

(6) it builds and repairs roads ; 

(7) it establishes and supports courts of lower grades." 
The duty of the citizen. — It is the duty of every good 

citizen to take a part in local government by voting or by 
holding office. In previous chapters we have studied the 
many things which go to make up a good citizen. Interest 
in local affairs is, perhaps, the most important of them all. 
The questions to be discussed at the annual meeting should 
be studied carefully, and the candidates to be voted for 
should be investigated, so that one may vote intelligently. 
If a citizen is elected to office, no matter how unimportant. 



252 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

he should administer it to the best of his abihty. Local 
government is the great training ground for those who hold 
larger offices ; he who does not think his small office of 
sufficient importance to be administered efficiently, will not 
serve his fellow citizens well in a larger capacity. That 
local unit is the best governed where all the people are 
interested in the government of their community, and do 
their share in voting and holding office. 

How to get public work well done. — When officials do 
not do well the work for which they are chosen, the citizens 
are at fault if they permit such officials to remain in office. 
In a syllabus published by the state of Pennsylvania are the 
following suggestions for the proper accomplishment of 
public work : 

" 1. Legislation should be confined to general principles, 
and the details of the work should be worked out by expert 
administrators. 

2. There should be a budget system in public finance. 

3. Public service should be dignified so that good men will 
be attracted into it. Strict civil service rules should be en- 
forced. K desire for able officials, regardless of party or 
factional interests, should be promoted. 

4. The ^ short ballot ' principle should be introduced. It 
should be clearly shown that this is not inconsistent with 
democracy, since for some positions, better men can be 
obtained by appointment than by election. 

5. The relation between cities and the state should be 
fixed carefully. In so far as is consistent with good govern- 
ment, cities should be granted ' home rule.' " ^ 

1 Since this chapter and the following chapter are so closely related, 
the questions for investigation for both have been placed at the end of 
Chapter XVII. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE GOVERNMENT OF A LARGER COMMUNITY 

When a community finds itself face to face with new 
problems, — street lighting, police protection, sidewalks, 
street cleaning, etc., it has to have special officials to look 
after these activities. Such questions do not, of course, 
concern the whole township or the county in which the 
village is located, so very often the little community goes 
through a process called '' incorporation." '' Incorporation 
means created into a legal body by the State. This body 
may then bring suit in court, borrow money, or enter 
contracts as a person may do." 

Incorporation. — There are different ways in which a 
village may become incorporated. Sometimes it is done 
by the State on application by a community, sometimes by a 
petition to the proper officer. In most states such incorpora- 
tion must be voted on by the people of the community. As 
soon as the process is complete, officials are chosen and the 
village is in a position to better administer its own local 
affairs. 

Although the community has received the special per- 
mission to look after its own affairs, it is yet a part of the 
township or of the county or of both, and as such it pays its 
share of the taxes of the larger unit, helps to elect its officials, 
and in no way loses its share in the governing power 
which the county or township has. Incorporated villages 

253 



254 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

vary in size, but are always small, usually with not less than 
two or three hundred inhabitants. When the population 
increases, the village usually incorporates itself into a city, 
as we shall see later. 

An incorporated village. — The citizens of a village or 
town, or borough as it is called outside of New England, 
elect a chief executive officer known as a president or mayor. 
This official enforces the ordinances passed by the legislative 
branch of the government, usually appoints some of the 
officials, and in some communities acts as a judicial officer. 

Other executive officers of a village are : a treasurer ; officials 
known in different states as constables, town marshals or 
bailiffs, who preserve order and arrest offenders against 
the law ; a clerk, and sometimes assessors ; an official to take 
care of the streets ; and in many states, school officials. 

The legislative branch of the government, known as the 
council, or the board of trustees, is elected by the people 
of the village. This board has the power to fix the tax rate 
(see Chapter XXIII), and its other duties vary in different 
states. Usually it may pass ordinances concerning the health 
of the community, protection from fire and other dangers, 
the streets and their care, the water supply and the lighting 
of the streets. 

The judicial duties of the village are performed by officers 
either chosen by the people of the community or appointed by 
the village board. Before these justices are brought minor 
offenders, who either receive their sentence in this court, 
or are held for a higher court. In these courts are also tried 
minor civil cases where the amount involved is not large. 

A city is simply a larger village, whose officials have wider 
duties, greater power, and are more in number, since city 
affairs carry with them a wider range pf authority. 



GOVERNMENT OF A LARGER COMMUNITY 255 

How villages become cities. — It might be well for us 
at this point to find out the reasons why some villages be- 
come great cities, while others remain with small popula- 
tion. Let us go again to our village about which we have 
read so much. The river and the water power that 
furnished the power for the mill, about which the settlement 
grew up, led in later years to the building of facto- 
ries and commercial establishments. Many people came 
here to obtain work, and the number of homes increased 
rapidly. The easy means of transportation afforded by the 
river led to the founding of great commercial enter- 
prises which needed many workers. In addition, the rail- 
roads and other means of transportation led to the estab- 
lishment of many new homes. 

Other cities have had added reasons for growth. South 
of our village the capital of the state was established. This 
was one of the reasons for its rapid growth. The great 
city of Pittsburg grew rapidly from a little trading post and 
fort when coal and iron were discovered near it. If mines 
are discovered, towns spring up near them and grow rapidly. 
If the mines fail, the cities are deserted. In one of the 
western states a city of over ten thousand inhabitants has 
become a village of hardly two thousand because of the fail- 
ure of the mine which brought about its growth. Some 
cities grow because they are the center of social life. 
Atlantic City and Palm Beach are examples of such cities. 

For all these reasons population becomes so great in many 
communities that the town meeting and village elections 
are no longer able to take care of the many activities which 
spring up. As the people had incorporated the village, 
they now begin to think of incorporating the community 
into a city. 



256 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



The city charter. — No matter in what way they grow, 
cities are all similar, in that, like the incorporated villages, 
" they are public corporations chartered under state laws." 
That is, in order to become a city, the community must 
receive from the state legislature a charter which grants it 




Courtesy of the War Department 
Our Largest Community 

The machinery of government of such a community is very complicated. 
What are some of the problems peculiar to this community which must be 
solved? 



permission to have a city government. If we remember 
our history, we know that when a body of colonists 
wished to settle in America, it received a charter from the 
king. This document usually specified the officers to be 
chosen and the boundaries of the colony; it told in detail what 
the colonists were permitted to do and what was forbidden 



GOVERNMENT OF A LARGER COMMUNITY 257 

them. The charter which a city receives is very similar. 
It contains the boundaries of the city, its name, the officials 
which it is to have and their duties, and in detail specifies 
the things which the city may or may not do. This charter 
is under full control of the law-making body of the state, so 
much so, in fact, that there has been a great deal of mis- 
government in cities because of the interference of the state 
legislatures with city affairs. Usually a special charter is 
granted to each community, but in New York and a few 
other states, the cities are divided into classes, and a general 
charter is provided for each class. 

" Home rule." — So many have been the evils connected 
with the granting of city charters and their manipulation by 
shameless politicians, that in recent years a movement has 
been started to grant to cities the right of ^^ home rule." 
In about a dozen of the states the state constitution pro- 
vides that any community which wishes to become a city, 
may draw up or change its own charter. These charters 
are subject, however, to the general laws of the state in which 
the new city is located. 

The board of aldermen. — The legislative branch of the 
city government is known as the common council or board 
of aldermen. In a few cities there are two bodies in the 
legislative department, but this system is rapidly giving 
place to the single house. In order to obtain equal repre- 
sentation for all parts of the city, it is divided into sections 
called wards. These wards are usually somewhat equal in 
population. In the majority of cities, one representative 
is elected from each ward, and all the members meet to- 
gether as the council or board of aldermen. In some cities, 
two or more are chosen from each ward, and in a few the 
aldermen are chosen from the city as a whole without refer- 



258 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

ence to ward lines. The members of the council serve for 
one or two years, usually with a small salary. 

This body has very definite powers given it by the charter 
and can enact only such laws as the charter permits. One 
of its most important duties is to pass laws for the '* health, 
comfort, and protection of society." These include laws for 
protection from fire, laws regarding the police and their 
duties, laws pertaining to the streets, street-cleaning, and 
kindred subjects. Many such laws have been touched upon 
in previous chapters of this book. It also has the power 
of levying taxes for the payment of the expenses of the 
municipality. In many cities, each year the heads of the 
various departments of city government prepare a list of 
expenses for the coming year. In a few, a board of city 
officials, known as the board of estimate and apportionment, 
of which the chief executive is a member, go carefully into 
each item of expense which is to be incurred. When the 
total amount of money to be raised for various purposes is 
fixed, this budget is sent to the council, which may further 
review it and then pass the necessary appropriation for it. 
A tax is then levied upon city property to meet this amount. 

The council has other important duties. One is the grant- 
ing of franchises. If a transportation company, gas or 
water corporation wishes to use the city streets, or to do 
business in the city, the council gives permission. This is 
called granting a franchise. The council may also levy 
special assessments for the improvement of city property, 
such as the paving of streets or the laying of sewers. In 
such a case the city pays part of the expense, and the re- 
mainder is paid for by the property owners who are most 
benefited. The council grants licenses to certain kinds 
of business which need to be kept somewhat under city 



GOVERNMENT OF A LARGER COMMUNITY 259 

control, — pawn brokers, moving picture shows, and the like. 
The council may buy property and make contracts ; it has 
control of the land owned by the city and makes regulations 
for its care. All these powers are given to it by the city 
charter. 

The mayor. — The chief executive officer of the city is 
the mayor. He is elected by the people in nearly all cities 
for a term of office of from one to four years. In Jersey 
City the term is five years. The usual term is two years, 
but in large cities, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, 
and Boston, the term is four years so that frequent 
elections may not disturb municipal affairs. His duties 
are similar to those of the chief executive officer of a village, 
but he has greater powers. He may appoint or remove, 
if necessary, many of the city officials. He has power to see 
that the law is obeyed, and like the sheriff of the county, 
he may ask the governor of the state for the aid of the militia 
in suppressing disorder. In many cities he keeps close watch 
of the finances, investigating the annual budget of expenses. 
He is the social representative of the city, welcoming dis- 
tinguished guests or delegates to conventions which may 
make the city their meeting-place. In our earlier history 
the mayor did not have the power of vetoing ordinances 
passed by the legislative part of the city government, but 
in recent years most city governments grant to their chief 
executive this power, together with* large powers of appoint- 
ment and removal of officials. Because of this the mayor is 
held responsible for the success or failure of his administra- 
tion. 

Other officers of the city. — In most cities the financial 
officers, the city treasurer and sometimes an official known 
as the comptroller, are elected at the same time as the mayor. 



260 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Where there are two financial officials the accounts of one 
are a check on those of the other, so that the city's money 
is doubly guarded. Boards of education are sometimes 
elective also. The great body of officials are appointed by 
the elective officials. They are so many (70,000 in New 
York City) and their duties are so varied that in order to 
understand one's own city thoroughly it will be necessary 
for each student to study it in detail. 

Judicial power. — The judicial power in the cities is usually 
placed in the hands of one or more police judges, elected by 
the people of the city. Their powers may be compared with 
those of the justice of the peace of a town, village, or county. 
Sometimes additional judges are chosen who hear civil cases 
only, that is, cases arising between landlord and tenant, 
and other petty cases where the stake is small. 

Within recent years there have been established in many 
cities what are known as " juvenile courts," already described 
(Chapter X). '' Most fundamental of all the problems with 
which the courts have to deal, is the problem of the juvenile 
offender. Boy and girl delinquents, if left to themselves, 
fall naturally into the careers which open to them through 
petty first offenses." " There presides over this court a 
judge who gives his whole time and attention to the admin- 
istration of justice to the children who are brought before 
him for the violation of one or another of the laws. In the 
children's court, the administration of justice does not mean 
simply the doling out of punishments. It means that the 
judge uses the methods that seem best suited to the help- 
ing of each boy and girl who comes before him. His aim 
is to prescribe something for each particular child which 
will help to make him a responsible member of society." 
When the home is not a good one the court may take the 



GOVERNMENT OE A LARGER COMMUNITY 261 

child from it and place him where he may be under good 
influences. 

Evil conditions in cities. — The form of city government 
we have been discussing, the " mayor-council type " as it 
is known, has given rise to many evil conditions. When 
our earlier cities were chartered, that is, our earlier colonial 
cities, they were patterned after the English chartered towns. 
Unfortunately the English towns were badly governed in 
those days, and the result was that the bad government 
was transplanted to America. Under this particular form 
of government, " graft " is easy ; if the members of the city 
council and other city officials are inclined to be dishonest, it 
is difficult to detect it because of the large number of officials. 
The rise of the city '' boss " is easy, for the tendency has 
been for men of education and business to refuse to take 
office, and a class of professional politicians has arisen that 
makes its living from holding office. Responsibility is so 
scattered because of the great number of offices that the dis- 
honest official is seldom brought to book. " What is every- 
body's business is nobody's business," is a very true saying 
when applied to city corruption and its punishment. 

New forms of city government. — During recent years 
the tendency has been to center the responsibility of city 
government. Instead of the old aphorism, " Don't put 
all your eggs in one basket," the modern way of saying it is, 
^' Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket.'^ 
When in 1900 the city of Galveston was partly destroyed 
by a tidal wave, the old form of city government, the mayor- 
council type, completely broke down. It did not seem able 
to bring order out of the chaos, nor did it seem to be able 
to put the city in a position where the terrible catastrophe 
might not be repeated. To discuss a remedy for the existing 



262 ' COMMUNITY CIVICS 

state of affairs, a committee of citizens came together and 
prepared what has become known as the commission form of 
government. The charter was granted by the state of 
Texas and went into effect in 1901. This form has since 
been adopted by many cities. 

lender this form of government, the rule of the city is 
placed in the hands of a commission of three to seven 
members. This is the number common in most of the 
municipalities which have adopted commission government, 
though in some the commissioners number ten. These men 
are elected by the voters of the city irrespective of wards 
or political parties, usually for two years, and at a small 
salary. 

The mayor-president is one of the commissioners chosen 
from their number by his associates, or is the one who re- 
ceived the greatest number of votes at the election. He has a 
slightly larger salary than the others because of his added 
■responsibility, and he is expected to give more of his time 
to the business of the city. This commission passes the city 
ordinances, grants franchises, appoints officials, raises money, 
and in fact performs all the duties of a board of aldermen or 
council. In addition, the city departments, except the 
department of education, are supervised by these com- 
missioners. There are usually as many departments as 
there are commissioners, the most common division being 
those of finance and revenue, waterworks and sewage, police 
and fire protection, and streets and public property. A 
special election is held for the choosing of a school board, 
and both it and the city judges are independent of the com- 
mission. 

The " Galveston " plan, as it is known, was added to in 
1907 by the city of Des Moines, Iowa. Besides the election 



GOVERNMENT OF A LARGER COMMUNITY 263 

of the commissioners, Des Moines prescribes a non-partisan 
election, the initiative, the referendum, and the recall. A 
non-partisan election is conducted as follows : '' Any person 
may have his name placed upon the primary ballot by pre- 
senting a petition containing twenty-five names. The 
names of the candidates are arranged alphabetically with 
no indications of party. The ten highest are placed upon the 
ballot for the regular election in the same manner, and the 
five highest are elected." 

The referendum provides that at the demand of a certain 
percentage of the voters, a law passed by the commissioners 
must be submitted to popular vote. 

The initiative gives the people the right of proposing 
city ordinances and of having them voted on at a special 
or regular election. 

The recall provides that the voters may remove any 
of the commissioners from office before the end of his 
term, by calling a special meeting of the voters for that 
purpose. 

Those in favor of a commission form of government say 
that (-1) it tends to place the governing power in fewer hands, 
and therefore it centers responsibility ; (2) it secures prompt- 
ness in carrying on the city's business because of this small 
number of officials ; (3) the voters can cast their ballots 
more intelligently for a few than for a large number of- 
officials. 

The '* city manager " plan goes a step farther than the 
commission plan of city government. In cities governed by 
this form, the commissioners hire an expert to manage the 
city's business just as a manager runs a large corporation. 
He usually appoints officials, has charge of the city finances, 
and sees that the ordinances of the city are obeyed. The 



264 COMMUNrTY CIVICS 

great centralization of power in the hands of one man or a 
commission is looked upon by those who oppose these forms 
of city government as undemocratic. Nevertheless, thus far, 
the cities which have tried these new methods of self-govern- 
ment seem to find them much more satisfactory than the 
mayor-council type. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. How were the Indians governed? 

2. Who were the first settlers of your community ? Did they have 
any problems to solve which your community has ? If so, how did 
they solve them ? 

3. When was your community incorporated? Who gave it its 
charter ? What are the boundaries of your community ? 

4. What are some of the problems a city has to solve which a smaller 
community does not have ? 

5. If you could make a choice, in which would you prefer to live, a 
large city or a smaller community ? Why ? 

6. By which of the different forms of municipal government are you 
governed ? Do you think the people are satisfied with the present form, 
or do they wish to change to some other form ? What reasons can you 
find for the desire for a change ? 

7. If you know any of the officials of the community, ask them to 
explain their duties to you. Make a report to the class of what they 
tell you. 

8. What is the law-making body of your community named ? How 
is it chosen? What are some of the ordinances (laws) which it has 
recently passed ? Do you think they are good laws ? Why ? 

9. If you were its chief executive officer or a member of its law- 
making body, what improvements would you try to make in your 
community ? 

10. What are some of the reasons for the growth of yoiu" community ? 
Has it any natural resoiu-ces ? If so, what are they ? 

11. Is the population of your community increasing or decreasing? 
Why? 

12. Make an outline of your local government, showing its chief 
officials, how they receive their office, length of their term, and their 
duties. 



GOVERNMENT OF A LARGER COMMUNITY 265 

For example, 

Officials Elected by the People Term of Office Duties 
Mayor 



For example, 



Officials Appolnted By Whom Term of Office Dxjties 
Commissioner of 
Public Safety Mayor 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 

The local divisions of government which we have studied 
about are a part of, and receive their power from, a yet 
greater community, the state, which in turn receives its 
power from the state and national constitutions and the 
laws enacted by the state and national lawmakers. When 
the first towns were established the settlers took what means 
they thought proper for self-government without regard to 
the limitations of the law. Counties and towns had to be 
incorporated, taxes were levied, and later, towns elected 
delegates to represent them in a central government. 
All this was done as the need arose for action. When gov- 
ernment became fully organized, the powers were divided 
as we have seen between the local authorities, the state, 
and the nation. " For many years the New England town- 
ships were undisturbed by the king or the parliament of 
England, and exercised such powers as are now exercised 
by the state. In fact they created the states which now con- 
trol them." It might be said in addition, that the states 
created the federal government which now controls them. 

Relations of local and state governments. — All forms of 
local government at the present time act either as the agents 
of the state in enforcing the laws passed by the state law- 
making body, or for themselves in enforcing such town, 
village, county, or city ordinances as the state permits them 

^66 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 267 

to pass. Such permission is granted either by the state 
constitution or by the legislature of the state. It is very 
important to notice, however, that '' the local authorities 
derive their authority not from the people of the localities, 
but from the people of the whole state," who elected the 
legislature or sent representatives to make the constitution. 
The state lawmakers. — The most powerful part of the 
state government is that which makes the laws. This body 
is known by different names in different states, the legis- 
lature, the general court, the general assembly. It is always 
composed of two houses, an upper house, known as the 
senate, and a lower house, known as the assembly, the house 
of representatives, or the house of delegates. 

Comparison of the two houses. — These two parts of the 
law-making body are alike in many respects. They are 
both elected by the people from certain districts, usually 
of about equal population. In some states a senator is 
elected from each county, but in most states he is elected from 
a division known as a senatorial district. By written or 
unwritten law the one chosen must reside in the district 
from which he is elected. The qualifications for holding 
office are usually the same for each house, though in some 
states the required age of those elected to the senate is 
greater than that of those elected to the lower house. When 
the legislature is organized, the organization is much the 
same in each house. Each has a presiding officer : in the 
senate, the lieutenant-governor, who has been elected by 
the people of the state, or a president, who is chosen by the 
senate ; in the lower house, a speaker, chosen by the mem- 
bers. Each house is divided into committees in order that 
business may be carried on more easily and quickly. The 
method of passing a bill through either house is practically 



268 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

the same, except that in many states all bills for raising 
revenue must start in the lower house. Any other bill may 
be introduced into either house. 

Perhaps one may wonder why there are two houses, since 
they seem so similar. There is a very good reason, for one 
acts as a check on the other. It is more difficult for a bad 
bill to become a law when it is necessary for it to pass two 
houses. Mr. Bryce says that, " the Americans restrain their 
legislatures by dividing them, just as the Romans restrained 
their executive by substituting two consuls for one king." 

Differences between the two houses. — The two houses 
also have some differences. The senate is always the smaller 
body. There are 16 senators and 37 members of the lower 
house in Nevada ; a senate of 67 members and a house of 
130 members in Minnesota; and in New Hampshire the 
senate numbers 24 while the house has 405 ! The districts 
from which senators are elected are larger than those from 
which the members of the lower house are chosen, and they 
contain a larger number of people. The senate has several 
special powers, one of which is, in many states, to pass 
upon the appointments of officials made by the governor. 
When a governor or other state official is on trial (impeach- 
ment), each house has a special duty. In some states when 
a state official is suspected of wrongdoing, he is sometimes 
impeached, that is, brought to trial, by the lower house. 
The senate, in New York State, in company with the 
judges of the highest state court, acts as a court to try the 
accused, and at the close of the trial votes on his guilt or 
innocence. If the accused official is found guilty, he is 
removed from office. The term of office of senators is 
usually longer than that of the other house. In about two 
thirds of the states it is four years, in the others it is two, 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 269 

except in New Jersey, where it is three, and in Massachusetts, 
where it is only one year ; in eighteen of the states the term 
of office of both houses is the same. 

Legislatures and their work. — The legislatures meet at 
the capitals of their respective states every two years in most 
states, every year in a few, but only once in four years in Ala- 
bama. Bad legislation and the making of too many laws 
have led nearly all the states to fewer and shorter meetings 
of the law-making bodies. As soon as they meet each house 
chooses its officials, — clerks, sergeants-at-arms, a chaplain, 
pages, etc., and is soon ready for business. This business 
covers a wide range. Mr. James Bryce, in his great work 
on American government. The American Commonwealth, 
divided the laws which a legislature may pass into three 
divisions, as follows : 

(1) such laws as have to do with our everyday affairs ; 

(2) the laws which regulate city and local governments ; 
for example, those concerning education, vaccination, regu- 
lation of corporations, railroads, labor, and laws which have 
to do with state and local taxation ; 

(3) special laws; for example, those which have to do 
with the incorporating and chartering of a variety of com- 
panies, such as gas, water, trolley or railroad companies, 
and the chartering of cities and villages. This latter class 
of laws has grown so large that some states have forbidden 
a great amount of such legislation either by the constitu- 
tion or by special laws. 

The national constitution and also some state constitu- 
tions forbid the state legislatures to make certain laws. 
There are some subjects upon which they may not legislate, 
but there are many more upon which they may. To give 
some idea of the great number of laws passed it is only neces- 



270 * COMMUNITY CIVICS 

sary to say that during a period of five years it is said 
that there were raore than 60,000 laws passed by the state 
legislatures. To remedy this evil of too much legislation, 
*' we must seek to form an educated public opinion, which 
will tolerate only first-class men, wise laws, sane legislation, 
and a well-organized system of government." 

New system of legislation. — During the last twenty 
years a new system of state legislation has been coming into 
use. This is a system in which the people take part directly 
and make the legislature subordinate to them. This has 
been described under the government of a city (see Chapter 
XVII), and includes the initiative, referendum, and recall. 
The referendum has really been in use since the organiza- 
tion of the state governments, for many laws passed by the 
state law-making bodies have had to be referred to the people 
for their sanction ; for example, amendments to the state 
constitutions and the incurring of a large state debt have 
been voted upon by the people before they became legal. 
When New York State built the barge canal, a great bond 
issue to pay for it was voted on by the people. At the present 
time the referendum is used in more than twenty states, and 
a large number of questions may be referred to the people 
at their demand, after a bill has been passed by the legisla- 
ture. 

The initiative is practically the same method that is used 
in a municipality, except that it is state wide. By the re- 
call, incompetent or dishonest officials may be removed by a 
vote of the people, as under the commission form of city 
government, rather than by impeachment proceedings. 
Some of the states, in order that questions may be clearly 
understood before they are voted on, send out pamphlets to 
the voters with arguments both for and against the measure 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 271 

under consideration. These measures have been called "the 
gun behind the door," meaning that they are ready to be 
used in case of necessity. 

The Congress of the United States. — The law-making 
body of the United States is similar in many ways to the 
law-making bodies of the other forms of government already 




Courtesy of Dr. A . G. Robinson 
A Glimpse of the Capitol 



studied, that of the local community, the board of super- 
visors, and the legislatures of the states. It is a body of men 
elected by the people to make their laws for them. Like the 
legislatures of the various states, it is composed of two Houses, 
the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Senate rep- 
resenting the State and the House of Representatives, the 
people. 



272 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

National senators. — The United States senators are 
elected by the people of their respective states for a term of 
six years. A senator must be thirty years old and a resi- 
dent of the state from which he is elected. He must have 
been a citizen of the United States for nine years. 

Of the two Houses, the Senate is supposed to be the more 
dignified. The term of office is longer, and its members 
serve for longer periods than do those of the House. It is 
also a continuous body, as only one third of its members 
go out of office each year, while the members of the House, 
unless reelected, go out of office at the same time. In 1911 
nearly one third of the senators had served for more than 
twenty years. Washington called the Senate " the saucer 
in which the tea of the house is cooled." It has never per- 
mitted itself to be photographed, as it feels that this would 
not be in accordance with its dignity. So strongly does the 
Senate hold to its old customs that to this day snuff boxes 
are kept in its place of meeting, and these are kept filled 
with snuff, though the custom of snufftaking died out many 
years ago. 

Certain powers are given this body which are not given 
to the other House. The Senate has the power of approving 
the appointments of the President and of acting as the court 
when impeachments are tried. It is also the body which 
has the power of accepting or rejecting treaties made with 
foreign countries by the President or other representatives 
of this country. When the Electoral College fails to elect 
a Vice-President, he is chosen by the Senate. 

House of Representatives. — The House of Representatives 
is elected by the people of the different states. Each state 
is divided into districts according to its population, and each 
district sends a representative. In 1920 there were 435. 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 273 

A representative must be twenty-five years old, a citizen of 
the United States for seven years, a resident of the state, but 
not necessarily of the district from which he is elected. 
Almost without exception, however, a representative is 
chosen from his own district. The theory is that he knows 
the conditions of that district better than some one from an- 
other district. In practice, this rule keeps many good men 
from Congress, because they live in the same district as one 
already chosen. The term of office is two years and the 
salary the same as that of a senator. Like the Senate, the 
House has certain special functions. All bills for the raising 
of revenue must start from the House. When the Electoral 
College fails to elect a President, it is done by the House. 
It has the sole power of bringing an impeachment. When 
it becomes necessary to impeach an official, the House ap- 
points a committee to conduct the case. It is tried before 
the Senate acting as a jury, with the chief justice of the 
Supreme Court or the Vice-President presiding. A two- 
thirds vote is necessary for conviction. 

Comparison of the two Houses. — There are certain like- 
nesses between the two Houses. Both have a presiding officer, 
in the Senate, the Vice-President, and in the House, the 
speaker, who is chosen by the House. Each makes its own 
rules of procedure and chooses its necessary officials. Each 
body judges the election of its members. If, after due 
investigation, a member is found to have been elected ille- 
gally, or to be of bad character, he may be expelled. Each 
may punish its members for disorderly conduct on the floor 
of the Chamber. In the House the mace is the symbol of 
its power. This is patterned after the old Roman symbol, 
which was borne before its chief magistrates. When a 
member is disorderly, the sergeant-at-arms, bearing the 



274 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

mace tipped with its silver eagle, may arrest him. It is 
said, however, that any disorder usually subsides before the 
mace is taken from its pedestal before the speaker's chair. 
The threat of it is sufficient. Each House of Congress 
keeps a journal of its proceedings, except those which re- 
quire secrecy. Neither may adjourn for more than three 
days without the consent of the other during a session of 
Congress. This provision prevents obstruction of the work 
of Congress by the adjournment of one house. 

The Houses have certain prohibitions and privileges in 
common. Each member receives compensation for his work, 
as we have seen. The members are free from arrest while 
Congress is in session, except in cases of treason, felony, that 
is, such crimes as murder, arson, or burglary, or a breach of 
the peace. They may not be questioned for any speech or 
debate in which they share, though this does not give them 
the privilege of talking scandal or uttering a libel against 
other members. No member of Congress may hold another 
office while a member of that body. 

A session of Congress. — A meeting, or session, of Congress 
lasts two years. The session is divided into a long and a 
short session. The long session begins the first Monday 
in December and continues indefinitely into the following 
summer. The short session begins the following December 
and closes March 4. The President may call a special 
session of Congress if he thinks the condition of the country 
needs it. A representative elected at the November elec- 
tion does not take his place in Congress until a year from 
the December following his election. 

How a bill becomes a law. — Like the state legislatures, 
Congress is divided into committees for greater ease in carry- 
ing on the business of lawmaking. If this were not done. 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 275 




276 * COMMUNITY CIVICS 

if *' only four minutes were given to the consideration of 
each of the bills introduced (45,000), it would require Con- 
gress to be in session for over three hundred days in the year 
to dispose of all of them." 

In order for a bill to become a law, it must follow a certain 
course of procedure. 

(1) It may be introduced into either body and read by 
title, after which it is referred to its proper committee. 

(2) The committee either " kills " it, that is, refuses to 
report it again, or else after discussion reports it to the body 
in which it was introduced. 

(3) It is read and discussed twice more in the House where 
introduced (a bill has three readings). 

(4) The bill then comes to a vote. 

(5) If the bill is passed, it is sent to the other House where 
it goes through the same process as in the House where it 
was introduced, that is, it is read once, referred to its 
proper committee, read twice more and debated, and then 
voted on. 

(6) It then goes to the President, who either signs the bill, 
thus making it a law, or else vetoes it. If it is not signed or 
vetoed within ten days, and Congress is in session, it be- 
comes a law without his signature. 

(7) Should the President veto a bill, it may then be 
passed over his veto by a two-thirds vote in each House. 

This process by which a bill becomes a law is practically 
the same as that followed by the states. 

The Constitution specifies the legislative powers possessed 
by Congress. Some are stated in a general way and have 
been construed very wisely, while others are stated more 
specifically. We may divide these powers roughly into 
financial, war, commercial, and general legislative powers. 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 277 

(1) It lays and collects taxes, duties, imposts and excises, 
and the income tax, and pays the debts of the nation. It 
may borrow money on the credit of the United States. It 
may regulate the laws which have to do with the payment of 
personal debts, known as bankruptcy laws. It may coin 
money and punish its counterfeiting. It regulates the value 
of our money and the value of foreign coin. 

(2) In time of war Congress is given large powers. It 
declares war, makes peace, and makes rules concerning 
captures on land and water. It raises and supports armies 
and provides and maintains a navy. It makes rules for the 
government of the land and naval forces. It may call out 
the militia to enforce the execution of the laws, to suppress 
insurrection, and to repel invasion. It provides for the 
organization, arming, and disciplining of the militia, though 
the power to appoint the officers of the militia and the 
authority to train it, is reserved to the states. When there 
is need for such action, the militia may be sworn into the 
federal service ; it then takes its place as part of the federal 
troops and is under the direct control of the federal govern- 
ment. 

Daring the war with Germany, Congress gave the President 
the power of appointing many boards and committees 
which were of great help in bringing the war to a successful 
conclusion. 

(3) It has authority to regulate commerce with foreign 
nations and among the several states. By decisions of the 
Supreme Court in interpreting this clause of the Constitu- 
tion, this has come to mean the regulation of both interstate 
and foreign commerce. This includes navigation, transpor- 
tation, communication by telegraph and telephone, the right 
to levy an embargo or prohibit certain commerce between 



278 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



states, and the right to pass laws against the trusts that 
restrain free commerce. 

(4) Congress is given certain powers not easy to classify : 
the power to establish a certain uniform rule of naturaliza- 
tion, to fix the standard of weights and measures, to estab- 
lish post offices and post roads, to grant copyrights and 




Courtesy of the Commission of Fine Arts 
The Congressional Library 

patents, to govern the District of Columbia, and to admit 
new states. 

(5) Finally the Constitution includes what has been called 
the '' elastic clause " because it stretches out to cover almost 
every need that may arise. " Congress shall have power to 
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carry- 
ing into execution the foregoing laws, and all other powers 
vested bv this Constitution in the government of the United 



THE LAWMAKERS OF STATE AND NATION 279 

States, or in any department or officer thereof.'' This is 
the famous clause which has made our government one of 
implied or understood powers, as well as one with powers 
more specifically stated. There is nothing stated in the 
(Constitution which would make possible the control of the 
food of the nation. Yet Congress passed a law which gave 
President Wilson the power to appoint Mr. Hoover as the 
head of a department to look after the food supply of the 
nation during the war with Germany, that neither we nor 
our Allies might suffer. Congress also gave the President 
power to place the railroads, the telegraph and telephone 
lines, and many public corporations under control of the 
government, so that war work might not be interfered with. 



Questions for Investigation 

1. What is the name of your state law-making body? What is 
the name of each house ? How many members has each ? How are 
they chosen ? What are their quahfications ? 

2. How many laws were passed at the last session of your legisla- 
ture ? Were they all necessary laws ? 

3. What powers has your legislature over its members? In what 
ways can it punish those of its members who do wrong ? 

4. What has your legislature to do with the educational affairs of the 
state ? 

5. What restrictions are placed upon the lawmakers by the state 
constitution ? 

6. Does your state employ the initiative and the referendum in 
law-making? If so, describe the manner in which they are used. 

7. What share does the governor have in the making of the laws ? 

8. Who are your representatives in each house of the legislature ? 

9. Write a letter to one of yoiu- representatives for a copy of a bill 
that is to be enacted into a law. In whose name is it drawn up ? Re- 
port to the class on the provisions of the bill. 

10. Does your legislature employ pages? Can you see any dis- 
advantages which might arise from serving as a page in the legislature ? 



280 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

11. Does your legislature have committees? If so, what are the 
most important ones, and what are their duties ? What is the necessity 
for committees ? 

12. What subjects upon which the legislature passes laws are the 
same as those upon which your local law-making body may act ? 

13. Why is it an advantage for a legislature to be composed of two 
houses ? 

14. Give arguments either for or against the annual meeting of the 
legislature. 

15. Write a letter to a friend describing either a real or imaginary 
visit to your state capital, including a visit to the capitol. 

16. What powers are forbidden to Congress by the federal Constitu- 
tion? 

17. What were some of the special powers granted to President 
Wilson by Congress during the war against Germany ? 

18. What are the chief committees of the House of Representatives ? 
Of the Senate ? 

19. Who is the member of the House of Representatives from your 
district ? Who are the senators from your state ? When do the terms 
of office of these officials expire ? 

20. Is there any law to prevent a resident of New York City from 
becoming the representative from a district in California ? 

21. What is the name of the paper in which the proceedings of 
Congress are officially published ? What is its value ? What is meant 
by "leave to print"? 

22. If a member of Congress is found guilty of a crime, how may he 
be removed from his seat in Congress ? 

23. What check does Congress have upon the President? What 
check does the President have upon the power of Congress? What 
check does Congress have upon the power of the federal judges? 
What check does the Supreme Court have upon Congress? 

24. How is it possible for a Congress to compel the presence of 
absent members ? Is this proper ? Why ? 

25. Members of Congress are free from arrest except when they have 
committed a serious crime. Why ? 

26. How many senators were there at the time of the first Congress ? 
How many are there at present? How many members are there at 
present in the House of Representatives ? 

27. How much mileage does the representative from your district 
receive ? 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE STATE EXECUTIVES 

The governor. — Just as the village president or the 
city mayor (see Chapter XVII) is the chief executive 
officer of his community, so the governor is the chief executive 
officer of the state. Like them his chief duty is to see that 
the laws are properly executed. In all states he is elected 
by the people of the state, in some states for two years, in 
about an equal number for four. Massachusetts chooses its 
governor for one year, New Jersey for three years, and 
Arizona for five. The governor's salary varies greatly in the 
different states, and in about one half the states he is fur- 
nished a residence in addition to his salary. 

For many years in our early history the governors did not 
have much power, as the people of the different states remem- 
bered the colonial governors and their great abuse of author- 
ity. In recent years, more and more power has been placed 
in their hands and they are held more strictly to account for 
the enforcement of the laws. Their power may be divided 
into three kinds, as we have already seen in the govern- 
ments we have studied, executive, legislative, and judicial. 

Powers and duties of the governor. — As the chief execu- 
tive officer of the state, the governor sees that the laws of the 
state are enforced ; that riots and insurrections are put down ; 
and that the national laws which have to do with the state 
are enforced. He also has the power to appoint many of 

281 



282 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




THE STATE EXECUTIVES 



283 



the state officials, although in some states such appoint- 
ments must be agreed to by the senate. In some of the com- 
monwealths he has the power of removing an official even 
though he has been elected, if such an official is incompetent 



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Courtesy of Conservation Commission, New York State 

Stocking a Stream with Young Trout 

This is the work of one of the executive departments of the state govern- 
ment. What name does this department receive in your state? 

or dishonest. The people hold the governor responsible 
for the acts of those whom he appoints ; if they are inefficient, 
the administration of the governor is held to be inefficient. 
The chief executive is the commander-in-chief of the militia 
of the state and as such may use it, either on his own initia- 



284 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



tive, or at the call of a sheriff or other official, to put down dis- 
order within the borders of the state. In New York and 
also in Pennsylvania, the governor has at his command a 
State Constabulary. The duties and work of this force 




Courtesy of New Yort State Engineer 

Movable Dam of the Bridge Type and Lock 

Work of a state engineer. This dam is on the canaHzed Mohawk 
River. During the winter the gates and frames are raised to a horizontal 
position under the bridge floor, thus leaving the river channel open during 
the spring flood period. 



have been described in the chapter on protection (see 
Chapter V). 

His legislative duties consist of sending messages to the 
legislature, to which he suggests the passage of necessary 
legislation, and also of his use of the veto power. In some 
states in addition to the sending of the messages, the governor 
goes so far as to have bills drawn up and to urge their passage. 
In one state such a bill has precedence over all other legisla- 
tion. The veto power gives the governor power to forbid 



THE STATE EXECUTIVES 285 

any legislation which he may think unreasonable. If the 
law-making body does not approve the veto, the law may 
be passed over the veto by a certain number of votes, which 
differs in different states. 

The governor has the power of reprieving, pardoning, or 
commuting the sentences of convicted criminals, if he thinks 
a wrong has been done. A pardon gives the criminal his 
freedom. To commute a sentence is to change it for a 
lighter one, for example, to change a sentence from the death 
penalty to life imprisonment. To reprieve is to put off the 
execution of the sentence. This is done when new evidence 
is found in favor of the convicted criminal, or when there 
is doubt in the governor's mind as to the sentence, and he 
wishes more time to consider the case. If the new evidence 
is found valueless, the original sentence is carried out. 
These are the judicial powers of the governor. 

In addition to these three kinds of duties, the governor 
has many social duties. He represents the state at the dedi- 
cation of public buildings and at the opening of fairs. He is 
present at important celebrations and gatherings of many 
kinds. '' Some excellent governors have died in oflBce be- 
cause of the fatigue of constant public speaking." 

The lieutenant-governor. — At the same election at which 
the governor is chosen, the voters of the state elect other 
executive officials. More than half the states have a lieu- 
tenant-governor who succeeds the chief executive in case 
of his death, or takes his place if he is ill or absent from the 
state. This official usually presides over the deliberations 
of the senate. 

Other state officials. — In all states a secretary of state is 
chosen, who has charge of the state documents and records, 
and a state treasurer, who receives the money paid for state 



286 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




'^'Tr. 




^r^.^^^^^^- 



.jpr '^'NiMf^ 



Courtesy of New York State Highway Commission 
Road under Construction by a State Executive 

The upper picture shows the original road. The lower picture shows' the 

laying of the foundation. 



THE STATE EXECUTIVES 



287 





Courtesy of New York State Highway Commission 
Road under Construction by a State Executive 

The upper picture shows the road nearly finished. The lower picture 
shows the finished road. 

What state executive builds roads? What share do county and town 
have in building a road ? 



288 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

taxes from all sources. Sometimes there is a state auditor 
or comptroller, without whose warrant the treasurer cannot 
pay out money from the treasury ; the attorney-general 
acts as a lawyer for the state ; a superintendent of 
education has charge of the schools. Either elected by the 
people or appointed by the governor are certain commis- 
sioners : of banking, highways, factories, health, and the 
many other activities relating to the life and industries of 
the citizens of the state. 

These officials in their turn have the power of appoint- 
ing so many officials as their subordinates, that in one year 
in New York State there were nearly 20,000 state employees. 
With such a large number, it is no wonder that corruption 
creeps into our political life. Too often a '' state job " is a 
position which people seek to get a large salary for little 
work. A prominent writer on government says, " State 
officials should work as many days per week, as many 
days per year, as they would be required to do by a 
corporation." 

The House of Governors. — When Mr. Roosevelt was 
President, he called a meeting of the governors of the various 
states to meet in Washington to discuss topics of common 
welfare. This body of men has received the name of the 
'' House of Governors." It has no legal status, but at its 
meetings the governors talk over the best means of making 
the laws of the different states agree and the best means of 
carrying out the provisions of the national laws. They 
also form model statutes, which they may recommend to their 
different states. Ex-President Wilson has said, "The 
only means of preventing the constant increase of federal 
(national) power is in the development of such a conference 
as this." 



THE STATE EXECUTIVES 289 



Questions for Investigation 

1. Who is the governor of your state? What is the length of his 
term of office ? How does his salary compare with that of the governors 
of other states ? 

2. Who are the elected officials of yom* state? What are their 
duties ? 

3. Compare the duties of the elected officials of your state with 
similar officials of the county and of the community. 

4. Make a list of some of the more important officials appointed by 
the governor of your state and give their chief duties. 

5. Does your state give much power to your governor? Do you 
think he should have more or less than he has ? Why ? 

6. Does your governor have the veto power ? How may it be over- 
come? How many bills did he veto at the last session of the legisla- 
ture? 

7. Who succeeds the governor if he dies or is removed from office? 
Who acts as governor if the governor is out of the state ? 

8. Has your state any commissions? How did their members 
obtain office ? What are their duties ? 

9. Which office would you rather hold, that of the governor or that 
of a state judge ? Why ? 

10. Give the names of the most famous governors of your state. 
Write a composition on the life of one of them. 

11. What power does the governor have over local officials ? 

12. Write a composition on one of the following subjects : "My 
Ideal Governor," *'The Greatest Governor of my State." 

13. Make an outline similar to the one at the end of Chapter XVII, 
showing the chief officials of the state, both elective and appointive. 

14. What sort of man should be elected as Ueutenant-governor ? 
Why? 

15. What state official has charge of health, of protection, of 
charities, of land, of labor, of capital, etc., the activities you have studied 
earlier in the book ? 



CHAPTER XX 

THE PRESIDENT 

The office. — Since the adoption of the Constitution, 
the United States of America has had twenty-eight presidents. 
Of this number four may be called great men, Washington, 
Jackson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. Others of our great states- 
men, Webster, Clay, Douglas, and Blaine, have been dis- 
appointed in their ambition to become the chief executive. 
One of the reasons why such great men as those mentioned 
have been unable to be elected to this high office was be- 
cause they were in public life so much that they had made too 
many political enemies to be the successful candidate of 
their party. However, with one or two exceptions, no one 
has ever been elected to the presidency who did not in a 
greater or less degree rise to the high duty demanded of him. 

Qualifications and salary. — The President of the United 
States must be thirty-five years old, and a natural-born 
citizen who has lived in this country for fourteen years. 
His term of office is four years, and he is sometimes re- 
elected. No President has been chosen more than twice, 
for it has virtually become a part of the unwritten constitu- 
tion that no one shall serve more than two terms. 

The salary received by Washington was $25,000 ; by the 
time Lincoln came to office it had been raised to S50,000 ; 
and Wilson received $75,000, plus $25,000 a year for 
traveling expenses. In addition to the salary, the Presi- 

290 



THE PRESIDENT 



291 




292 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

dent has the use of the executive mansion, more commonly 
known as the " White House," as a residence. Congress 
also makes liberal appropriations for the care of the White 
House, for automobiles for the use of the President, for fuel, 
greenhouses, lighting, and grounds, for the secretary to the 
President, clerks and stenographers, and for other necessary 
expenses. Including the President's salary, not far from 
$250,000 is spent by the national government for the support 
of the chief executive and the care of his home. This 
amount is very small, however, when compared to the 
amounts received by the King of England, or the President 
of France. 

Election of the President, if- The method by which the 
President is elected appears somewhat confusing. The men 
who made the Constitution did not have confidence in the 
ability of the people to elect the chief magistrate directly. 
On this account, the following method was devised, that it 
might place the elective power in the hands of those who were 
thought to be more able. 

(1) Each state chooses as many men as it has senators and 
representatives in Congress, who are called electors. The 
whole body of these men is known as the Electoral College. 

(2) At about the same time the Electoral College is chosen 
the political parties nominate their candidate for the presi- 
dency and vice-presidency. 

(3) On election day, the first Tuesday after the first Mon- 
day in November, the people vote for the electors of their 
various states. 

(4) The second Monday in January the electors elected 
by the people at the November election, meet at the capital 
of their state and cast their ballots for the candidates of their 
party. 



THE PRESIDENT 293 

(5) The votes of the electors are then sent to the Senate 
of the United States. 

(6) On the second Wednesday of February the president 
of the Senate opens these votes and counts them in the 
presence of both houses of Congress and declares the one 
elected who received the majority of votes. 

As the electors vote only for those candidates who have 
been nominated by their party, and who have really been 
elected at the preceding election, the casting of the votes by 
the Electoral College has become a mere matter of form. 
The College is '' just about as useful as the two buttons on 
the back of a man's coat, put there originally to support a 
sword belt. We have discarded the sword, but we cling to 
our buttons." 

The Electoral College. — As a matter of fact, the Electoral 
College is not only useless, but worse than useless, as it has 
actually worked harm, defeating the will of the people as 
expressed at the November election. On several occasions 
the candidate who has received the largest popular vote 
has not been elected. For example, in 1884, in New York 
State, the Democratic party received only 1000 votes more 
than the Republican party. This, of course, gave the votes 
of the state (thirty-six in 1884) in the Electoral College to 
Mr. Cleveland, and were enough to elect him, though Mr. 
Harrison had a total of many more votes of the people in the 
remainder of the state than Mr. Cleveland. 

If no candidate is chosen by the College, the President 
is chosen by the House of Representatives, each state having 
one vote. The choice is made from the three candidates 
who have received the highest number of votes. Presidents 
Jefferson and John Quincy Adams were elected in this 
manner. The Senate chooses the Vice-President in the same 



294 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

manner as the House chooses the President in case of no 
election, except that only the two highest are voted on. 

The inauguration. — The newly elected President takes 
office on March 4 of the year following the November 
election. The President who is retiring escorts his successor 
to the Capitol, where the President-elect takes the oath of 
office in front of a large multitude. The oath is usually 
sworn to before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, and is as follows : 

''I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute 
the office of President of the United States, and will to 
the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the 
Constitution of the United States." A Bible is used in 
administering the oath, and at its close the President 
kisses its open page. After the oath is taken, the 
inaugural address is given, in which the new executive 
outlines his policies. A great parade is usually held, and 
in the evening a magnificent reception is given at the 
White House. 

It has been suggested many times that the date of the 
inauguration be changed until later in the year. The 
weather is often so stormy and cold that many who have 
come to Washington to attend the exercises have contracted 
sickness from which they died. One President is said to 
have died of a cold caught at the inauguration. 

Comparison of the powers of President and governor. — 
The powers of the President may be compared to those of the 
governor of a state (see Chapter XIX). Both have been 
elected to office to see that the laws are obeyed, each is in 
command of the army and navy, the one of the nation and the 
other of the state. Both have the power to grant reprieves 
and pardons. Both have the power to send messages to their 



THE PRESIDENT 



295 



respective legislative bodies, to call extra sessions, and to 
veto bills. 

With all these similarities, we must remember that the gov- 
ernor is but one of the several executive officers elected by the 
people, while the Presi- 
dent, in company with 
the Vice-President, is 
the only executive officer 
elected by the people as 
a nation, and as we shall 
see, he has the power of 
appointing the other ex- 
ecutive officers of the 
national government. 
Because of this he is held 
responsible for the work- 
ing of the government 
as the governor cannot 
be under the present 
system. Then, too, the 
power of the President 
is much greater, in that 
he is the executive head 
of all the states, and, 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, of all our re- 
lations with foreign countries. 

His powers. — The President receives his power from the 
Constitution, the laws which Congress passes, treaties with 
foreign nations, and from the customs and usages which 
have grown up since the country was formed. 

Like the governor, the President divides his powers into 
three classes, executive, legislative, and judicial. His 




Courtesy of Dr. A. G. Robinson 

The Washington Monument 

The monument to President Washington, 
at Washington, D. C. 



296 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

executive powers include command of the militia of the states 
and the national army and navy ; the execution of the laws 
passed by Congress ; the power to make treaties with foreign 
nations, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and to 
receive the representatives of other nations; the appoint- 
ment of officials ; and in general securing the obedience of the 
people to the laws of the nation. 

Presidents who have been forced to use their war powers 
have found them very far-reaching. *' Congress can make 
him almost a dictator." President Lincoln, during the 
Civil War, and President Wilson, during the war against Ger- 
many, exercised far greater powers than any other President, 
greater even than a European king or queen. This is 
necessary in time of great danger for one man with great 
power can obtain results better than a body of men. Presi- 
dent Wilson, through powers granted him by Congress, 
appointed boards responsible to him alone for the execution 
of the many duties war brings. If his appointees did 
not get results, they were replaced by men who could. In 
conquered territory the President may appoint the necessary 
officials for the establishment of order. In time of peace the 
chief executive may use the militia of the states or the regular 
army to secure the faithful execution of the laws. Presi- 
dent Wilson sent the militia of the states to the Mexican 
border to keep the peace there. It was first necessary, 
however, to swear it into the service of the nation. When 
there was interference with the United States mail during a 
strike in Chicago, President Cleveland, in spite of the protest 
of the governor, sent troops to Illinois to restore order. Wash- 
ington summoned the militia to suppress the Whiskey Rebel- 
lion. When the country is in danger, there is practically 
no check upon the power of the President except Congress. 



THE PRESIDENT 297 

Appointment of officials. — The President appoints many 
officials to see that the business of the nation is carried on 
and that the laws are executed. This is one of his most 
important powers, and the one, also, that brings him the 
most annoyance. From the day of his inauguration he is 
surrounded by a crowd of office seekers. During the admin- 
istration of Andrew Jackson the " spoils system "was begun. 
" Turn the rascals out," and '' to the victors belong the 
spoils " said the newcomers to office. Unfortunately this 
custom has been followed by each administration. After 
the murder of President Garfield by a disappointed officfe 
seeker, office-getting was placed very largely in the hands of 
the Civil Service Commission. This is a body of men which 
conducts the examination of those who wish to hold office. 
The office goes to the one whom the examination shows to be 
best qualified. 

The President appoints his cabinet, our representatives 
in foreign countries, the judges of the Supreme Court, and 
more than six thousand other officials. Most of those 
appointed by the President must be confirmed by the Senate. 
On the other hand the President has the power of removing 
any official he has appointed, if he is not satisfactory. At 
the present day there are few removals unless the official 
is exceedingly inefficient. 

Legislative power of the President. — The legislative 
powers of the President are mostly advisory. In his annual 
message and in whatever special messages he may find it 
necessary to send to Congress, he suggests laws that should be 
passed, or informs the legislative body of the condition of the 
country, that it may pass the necessary laws. The President 
also exerts a very direct influence on legislation by his per- 
sonal conferences with the leaders of Congress and by his 



298 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

appeals to the people. President Wilson succeeded in 
getting a number of important laws passed in this manner 
when there was much party wrangling in Congress. 

In his Autobiography President Roosevelt says, " In 
theory the Executive has nothing to do with legislation. In 
practice as things now are, the Executive is or ought to be 
peculiarly representative of the people as a whole. As 
often as not, the action of the Executive offers the only 
means by which the people can get the legislation they 
demand and ought to have. Therefore a good Executive 
under the present conditions of American political life must 
take a very active interest in getting the right kind of legis- 
lation, in addition to performing his executive duties with an 
eye single to the public welfare. More than half my work 
as Governor [of New York State] was in the direction of 
getting needed and important legislation. I accomplished 
this only by arousing the people and riveting their attention 
on what was done." When he became President, Mr. Roose- 
velt was successful in carrying out many of his most im- 
portant policies by this method. 

The veto power of the President. — The veto power of the 
President is not exercised often, but it is the most direct 
method of control of legislation in his hands. Very often 
the fear of the threat of the use of the veto power is sufficient 
to kill bad legislation. A bill vetoed by the President may 
be passed over his veto by a two-thirds vote of each House 
of Congress. During our entire history there have been 
about five hundred vetoes, three hundred of which were 
vetoes by President Cleveland of bad pension legislation. 

Judicial powers of the President. — As a judge, the Presi- 
dent may grant reprieves and pardons in a manner similar to 
the governor (see Chapter XIX), except that he may act only 



THE PRESIDENT 299 

in cases coming under federal law. He cannot pardon in case 
of an impeachment. He also has the power of commuting 
sentences and of granting an amnesty, a form of pardon 
which forgives a body of people rather than one person. 

' ' The American presidency is praiseworthy for its sim- 
plicity. . . . The president has no high-sounding title. 
He appoints thousands of officers . . . and yet never wears 
a uniform, even as the head of the army. Nevertheless 
the position is one of great dignity and honor. Few public 
men have been free from the pleasing thought that the 
presidency might come to them. . . . The president is 
not only the official head of the government, and its most dis- 
tinguished personage ; he is, on the whole, the most powerful 
factor in American government." 

Questions for Intestigation 

1. Write a composition on the life of the present President. 

2. Name a President who has really been elected by the vote of the 
people but not by the Electoral College. How could this be ? 

3. Write a description of the inauguration ceremonies of the Presi- 
dent, and make a report to the class, 

4. What is meant by "implied powers"? What "implied powers" 
has the President ? 

5. What M^ere some of the extra powers given President Lincoln and 
President Wilson during a time of war ? 

6. How many electors may a state have? How many has your 
state ? 

7. What similar powers have the President and the governor of your 
state ? The President and the mayor of your city ? The President and 
the sheriff of your county ? 

8. Do you think a President should consider the political party of 
those whom he appoints to office ? Why ? 

9. Do you think the salary of the President is large enough ? Why ? 

10. Does the President use his pardoning power more in peace or in 
war time? Can you tell the story oi any of the pardons of the 
President ? 



300 * COMMXJNTTY CIVICS 

11. Do you think the President should wear a uniform as com- 
mander of the army and the navy? Why? 

12. " The President is the most powerful factor in American govern- 
ment." Show that this statement is true. 

13. What President used his veto powers very largely ? Why? 

14. Who was WilHam L. Marcy, who said "to the victors belong 
the spoils"? 

15. Make a report to the class on the work of the Civil Service 
Commission. 

16. May the salary of the President be increased during his term 
of office? Wliy? 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 

The activities of the federal government must of course 
cover a much larger field than our local or our state govern- 
ments. Just as we are members of a family and have certain 
relations with each other and with those outside the family 
circle, so, as a nation composed of many states, we have a sim- 
ilar relationship. Each state finds many problems of com- 
mon interest, problems to be solved for the common good of 
all. The makers of the Constitution placed the care of such 
common problems in the hands of the federal government. 

Just as the family is a part of many families joined to- 
gether to make up the local community, the town or the city, 
so is our nation one of the family of nations related through 
mutual interest. 

The work of the federal government in supervising these 
activities has been divided into ten different departments. 
At first there were four, but as the nation grew, its activities 
increased and others were added. Of first importance is the 
department that takes care of the relations between the 
states, between the states and the federal government, and 
between the federal government and foreign nations. We 
know it as the Department of State. 

Domestic activities of the Department of State. — If a 
governor wishes federal troops to suppress violence that 
has gone beyond the control of the state authorities, or if 

301 



302 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

he wishes a foreign government to ^ive up a criminal who 
has fled to its protection, he makes the request through the 
Department of State. Through this department amendments 
to the Constitution are certified, correspondence between the 
states and the federal government is carried on, the admission 
of new states is proclaimed, and the laws passed by Congress 
are published. 

Differing from all the other departments of the govern- 
ment, which have to give account of all money spent, this 
department has a fund of $100,000 at its disposal which 
need not be accounted for. This private fund is used in 
secret work of the department, so that what it learns may 
not be known to other nations. It also pays for the expense 
of entertaining foreign guests of the nation, as was the case 
when General Joft're and Mr. Balfour came with French and 
English missions to confer with our government concerning 
carrying on war against Germany. All this work may be 
called its domestic activities as opposed to its much wider 
field, our relations with foreign governments. 

Relations with foreign nations. — In order that the federal 
government may have the proper knowledge of conditions 
in other nations, and in order to maintain pleasant relations 
with them, the United States sends representatives to all 
foreign nations unless we are at war with them. On the 
other hand all foreign nations maintain representatives at 
Washington. Our representatives are appointed by the 
President, with the consent of the Senate, and are known 
as ambassadors, ministers, or consuls, according to the 
country to which they are sent or the duties they perform. 

In general it is the duty of an ambassador to promote the 
interest of the United States in every way. He protects 
American citizens abroad, and under the direction of the 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 303 

home government, formulates treaties between the United 
States and the country to which he is sent. 

An ambassador's salary is $17,500, but since our representa- 
tive must be prominent socially and do much entertaining, 
very few poor men can afford to be ambassadors. It is said 
that our ambassador to England spends more than $250,000 a 
year. It would seem that as rich a country as the United 
States could afford to pay an adequate salary to its represent- 
atives abroad, so that men who have all the qualifications 
except wealth, might receive appointment to such important 
offices. 

We have usually maintained ambassadors in fourteen of 
the most important countries : Great Britain, France, Italy, 
Spain, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Germany, 
Russia, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary, but owing to the 
conditions arising out of the war, no ambassadors are now 
sent to the four last named. Recently Peru and Belgium 
have been placed among the nations to which ambassadors 
are sent. When the nations with whom we were at war 
shall have formed stable governments, it is probable that 
ambassadors will again be sent to them. In case of war the 
affairs of the nation are placed in the hands of a neutral 
nation. 

Ministers are sent to the nations not mentioned above. 
Their duties are the same as those of ambassadors, but 
their salaries are less, and their rank is lower. 

Consuls are sent to all the important cities in the world. 
Probably the most inaccessible of the American consulates is 
that at Chung King, far back in the interior of China. Much 
of the distance is traversed in a small river boat, pulled by 
Chinese coolies, who are paid a cent a day each. Consuls 
number about seven hundred. They have been called 



304 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



" America's lookouts on the watch-towers of international 
trade." Their duties are many and varied. Aside from 
their chief duty of promoting the commercial relations 
between the United States and the country where they are 
stationed, they have many other duties to perform. When 




( uurU\i/ v/ Or. A. G. Robinson 



Pan American Building 
For what purpose is this building used ? 

the European War broke out, many Americans were stranded 
in Europe. The consuls loaned them money or obtained 
it for them, provided them with the necessary papers and 
transportation, and got them safely out of the warring 
countries. So many are the duties of a consul, that Mr. 
Hart, in his Actual Government, tells of a consul who 
declares he was called upon to tell where real American 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 305 

chewing tobacco could be obtained, and to decide how the 
word '' bombshell '' should be pronounced. 

Consuls have some judicial powers. They investigate 
crimes occurring on American vessels on the high seas, and 
in some countries act as judges in cases involving Americans. 
Such a court may actually condemn Americans to death, 
if the minister of the country where the trial occurs, approves 
of the conviction. 

Passports. — The Department of State issues passports 
to those who wish to travel in foreign countries. A pass- 
port is a certificate to identify a citizen of the United States 
when abroad, and to give him the protection of the United 
States laws. It has a minute description of the person to 
whom it is issued and has his signature. It bears the im- 
print of the Great Seal of the United States. The depart- 
ment keeps a record of the marriages of all American citizens 
which take place before a consul, and also of all American 
children born abroad. 

The Secretary of State. — All of these activities are under 
the control of the chief executive officer of the department, 
the Secretary of State. He is considered the most important 
of the President's advisers. Like the other executive heads 
of the different departments he is appointed by the President 
and may be removed by him. Under his care are many 
bureaus, the heads of which are responsible to the Secretary, 
who in turn is responsible to the President. 

The duties of the Secretary of State of the national govern- 
ment and the state official who, in many states, bears the 
same title, must be carefully separated (see Chapter XIX). 
Some few are similar ; the state secretary has charge of the 
great seal of the state, the national secretary has charge of the 
Great Seal of the United States, which must be affixed to the 



306 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

proclamations of the President and to other important docu- 
ments; both officials have charge of the archives, the 
one of the state, and the other of the nation ; both see to 
the publishing of the laws. Here the similarity of their 
duties comes to an abrupt end. 

Finances of the nation. — Next in importance to the 
foreign affairs of the nation come its financial affairs (see 
Chapter XXIII). Large sums of money must be raised to 
pay for the many activities in which the government is 
engaged. This is done in different ways. Some is raised 
from the duties paid on goods imported into the country, 
some comes from the taxes levied by Congress, some from the 
internal revenue taxes, some from the income tax. Large 
sums are raised by bond issues, that is, money loaned to the 
government for special reasons. The " Liberty " and other 
loans raised to help carry on the war against Germany are 
examples of such bonds. All who loan money to the govern- 
ment in this manner receive interest on the money so loaned. 
The rate paid is not high, for the credit of the government is 
so good that a high rate is not demanded. 

The great amount of money received from various sources 
is spent to put the country on a sound financial basis, to pay 
government officials, to improve the rivers and harbors, to 
pay for the army and the navy, to give compensation to the 
soldiers and sailors injured in the service of their country, 
to pay for education, for interest on the public debt, and 
for all the infinite number of things that exist because of the 
financial help of the government. 

The manufacture of money. — The federal government 
manufactures the paper money, postage and revenue stamps, 
and the specie which are in circulation. The making of our 
paper money and coins is a very interesting process. The 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 307 

paper used is made of linen by a secret process. The recipe for 
making the ink for printing the bills is also a government 
secret. The plates from which the money is printed are mas- 
terpieces of engraving. It takes a year of work to make one of 
the original plates. About a million dollars' worth of paper is 
printed every day, and in more than fifteen years only one 
piece of paper was lost. By the time a bill is ready for cir- 
culation it has been counted more than fifty times. When 
a bill is worn out or very dirty it may be sent back to the 
department to be exchanged for a new one or to be 
laundered. The old bills which can no longer be put in cir- 
culation are destroyed. 

The making of coins is no less interesting than the manu- 
facture of bills. The metal brought to the treasury is made 
pure and then mixed with its proper amount of alloy to make 
it hard. It is then worked into thin bars and put through a 
giant '' cookie " cutter which cuts out thousands of little 
yellow, white, or bronze cookies, according to the coins being 
made. These little cookies are then placed in a huge machine 
with engraved dies above and below, and two hundred 
seventy-five pounds pressure applied. When the cookies 
come out they are money. The government mints, that is, 
the institutions where hard money is manufactured, are 
located at San Francisco, Denver, Carson City, New Orleans, 
and Philadelphia. 

The actual caretaker of the money of the United States is 
the treasurer. His name will be found on all bills issued 
by the government. He receives all monies and pays them 
out when authorized to do so. 

The Secretary of the Treasury. — The department which 
has charge of the finances of the national government is 
known as the Department of the Treasury. Its ch'ef execu- 



308 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

tive is known as the Secretary of the Treasury. This de- 
partment, as all others, is divided into many bureaus, each 
of which is responsible to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Curiously enough, the Secretary of the Treasury has other 
duties not connected closely with his financial duties. He 
has charge of the life-saving service, the public health, the 
marine hospital service, and the construction and support of 
public buildings. These are duties that have remained from 
the time when there were but few departments. In addition 
to these, he has other duties, rather remotely connected with 
his financial duties. His department maintains a fleet of 
armed vessels to stop smuggling and to enforce the quaran- 
tine laws. It attempts to prevent counterfeiting ; and it is 
interesting to know that it is so difficult to counterfeit our 
money, that out of three billion dollars, only twelve thousand 
dollars' worth of bad money was found. Our money is so 
closely safeguarded that moving picture theaters are for- 
bidden to show films which exhibit the counterfeiting of 
money. 

The army. — A very large proportion of the money which 
flows into the treasury is expended for the support of the 
army and the navy. Our army is made up of the regulars, 
the state militia, and those who in time of war may be 
drafted into the service. All who serve in the army must 
be physically fit ; the application of a man with any defect 
will be rejected. Even the lack of four molar teeth or an 
imperfection of the feet will cause the rejection of one who 
wishes to serve his country by fighting. During the war 
with Germany, vast cantonments were erected where 
drafted men were concentrated to learn modern soldiering. 
Camps were established for the training of civilians for 
officers. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 



309 



There is a large number of men in the active fighting force; 
but the ratio of two to three must be maintained between 
them and the men who are behind the line, road-builders, 
cooks, horse-shoers, ambulance and motor repairers, those who 
disinfect and repair clothing, men to superintend the main- 




Courtesy of Lieut. John Cipperly 

War Photograph from an Airplane 

The illustration shows a part of the Hindenburg Line. The smoky spot 
in the center of the picture is caused by the explosion of a shell. Note the 
trenches. Note also the canal, supposed to be unbreakable until it was 
captured by the men of the 27th and 30th Divisions. 

tenance of a pure water supply and to perfect sanitary ar- 
rangements. Doctors and nurses and all who help repair the 
bodies broken by war must be enrolled. So it is seen that our 
armies consist of a mighty host, and that the responsibilities 
of this department of our government are very great. 
^ All this army must be outfitted with uniforms and shoes. 



310 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



Guns must be manufactured, rifles, cannon, shells, grenades, 
gas, all the horrible appliances that modern warfare has 
brought, must be made ready. Airplanes must be built, 
and those which become useless must be replaced constantly, 
for the modern army is blind without its airplane scouts. 
In the matter of food alone it is easy to see how great is the 
task of the War Department An army of 100,000 men 




The Advance 



United States Official PTioto 



Infantry behind a tank as it advances up a hill. (The soldiers are of the 
107th Infantry, 27th Division.) 



require a daily ration of 50 tons of meat, 50 tons of bread, 
50 tons of potatoes, and 40 tons of other foods. When we 
consider that the army consists of at least a million men, the 
great amount of work only to feed it is almost more than 
we can realize. 

Military schools. — There are two schools maintained by 
the government for the training of officers for the army, 
the Army War College, and the Military Academy at West 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 



311 



Point. The former is a school for officers, who, when they 
complete the courses of the college successfully, may be 
appointed to the General Staff. 

The United States Military Academy at West Point, 
founded in 1802, is the most famous military academy in 
the world. The authorized strength of the cadets is 1338. 
These come from the various Congressional districts, some 
from the states at large, four from the District of Columbia, 




Courtesy of ( 

Corps of Cadets at Dress Parade 
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. 

two from Porto Rico, four from the Philippines, some from 
the United States at large, and some from the regular army 
and the national guard. The rigorous course of instruction 
requires four years and is largely mathematical and pro- 
fessional. The pay of a cadet is $1024.80 per year, an 
amount which covers the cadet's actual needs, and he is not 
permitted to receive money from outside sources. He is 
required to wear the complete uniform of the institution at 
all times during his cadetship, so that an exceptional de- 



312 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

mocracy is effected in the Corps itself. Appointees to the 
Military Academy must be between seventeen and twenty- 
two years of age, free from any infirmity which may unfit 
them for military service, and able to pass the equivalent 
mental tests for entrance into a first-class college or univer- 
sity. In 1917 there were proportionately so few trained 
graduates in the United States, that it was necessary to 




Courtesy of Commandant, West Point 
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York 

give them temporarily advanced rank in order to meet the 
needs of the country for higher commands. 

Army medical officers have done much important work. 
Drs. Reed, Carrol, and Lazear wiped out the scourge of 
yellow fever by their experiments with mosquitoes. Dr. 
Gorgas made possible the digging of the Panama Canal by 
his wonderful cleaning up of the Canal Zone. Others have 
perfected the typhoid inoculation, so that this former scourge 
of armies is no longer to be feared. Dr. Ryan stopped the 
scourge of typhus in the Balkans during the war against Ger- 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 313 

many. All these things have been done as a matter 
of duty and not for glory or pay. 

Officials of the War Department. — The President is the 
commander-in-chief of the army, but the Department of War, 
through its executive head, the Secretary of War, is in active 
charge of it. The actual work of supervising and organizing 
the army is in the hands of a trained body of officers known 
as the General Staff. It prepares plans for the national de- 
fense and for the necessary movement of troops. The Chief 
of Staff acts as military adviser to the President. 

The navy. — The making of a navy such as the United 
States needs at the present time is almost as great a task as 
the making of the army. Fighting ships, from the battle- 
ship to the submarine chaser, must be built and kept in 
proper condition for fighting. Men must be enlisted and 
food and clothing made ready for them. Ammunition must 
be supplied and frequent target practice must be conducted. 
Those soldiers of the sea, the marines, must be enlisted 
and trained. In order that the officers of the fleet may 
have absolutely correct time, for this is very necessary in the 
movement of the various ships, the Navy Department main- 
tains a naval observatory at Washington. 

A prominent writer on government says, " It keeps a 
great master clock in a hermetically sealed case in an isolated 
vault, the temperature of the vault never being allowed to 
vary more than the hundredth part of one degree. When 
the temperature in the vault varies the two-hundredth 
part of a degree from normal, a thermostat automatically 
turns off its little electric stove (an electric light bulb). It 
often switches the little bulb off and on as much as a dozen 
times a minute." Yet with all this wonderful accuracy, a 
careful check is kept upon its performance by means of 



314 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 




Courtesy of Navy Department 
U. S. S. Nevada, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 

How is the mast used? What is the size of the guns? How far will they 
shoot ? What is the purpose of the wires ? 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 315 

observations of the stars made at the observatory. The ob- 
server knows the exact time the fixed stars ought to be at 
certain points in the heavens. When this is calculated, he 
regulates the clock by his observations. 

The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis is main- 
tained to educate the officers for the navy as the Military 
Academy at West Point is maintained to educate officers 
for the army. The members of the Naval Academy are 
appointed by the Secretary of the Navy on the same 
plan as the cadets. Each is commissioned an ensign at 
graduation. 

Officials of the Navy Department. — The President is 
commander-in-chief of the navy as well as of the army. 
Like the Department of War, the Department of the Navy 
has an executive head, the Secretary of the Navy. The 
General Board of the navy corresponds to the General Staff 
of the army, and the Naval War College trains officers for 
the General Board as the Army College does for the General 
Staff. 

The legal affairs of the government. — It sometimes 
happens that the laws passed by Congress are broken. For 
example, we have learned in a previous chapter that certain 
combinations of capital (see Chapter XIV) are illegal, and 
that the government prosecutes those who disregard this 
law. Those who break the federal laws, — counterfeiters, 
smugglers, spies, and others, — are sent to a federal prison. 
A secret service is maintained by the government to search 
out those who break these laws. All this work is done by 
the Department of Justice, whose executive head is the 
Attorney-General. He seldom appears in court personally, 
but the cases are usually prepared by his assistants. By 
virtue of his office he is the director of the federal prisons, 



316 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



supervises the freeing of prisoners on parole, and may 
recommend pardons. 

The Post-Office Department. — The work of the Post- 
master-General has already been studied in the chapter on 
Communication. Turn to Chapter VIII and review the 
very important work that he does. 

Department of the Interior. — After the United States 
had gained a large amount of territory at the end of the 




( ourlt\y oj t/u < urn/ziission of Fine Arts 

The New National Museum (on the Mall), Washington, D. C. 



Mexican War, need arose for some government department 
to look after the questions which came from the acquisition 
of the new territory. For this reason the Department of 
the Interior was organized. At the same time other depart- 
ments of the government turned over to the new secretary 
functions which did not seem properly to belong to their 
departments. The result is that the Secretary of the Interior 
has under his charge a large number of the activities of the 
federal government, activities which are entirely different 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 317 

in character, and none of which seem related to the others. 
Among his chief duties is the control of the general land 
oflBce, the pension office, the bureau of education, Indian 
affairs, the reclamation service, the patent office, the geologi- 
cal survey, and the bureau of mines. 

The general land office. Perhaps the most important 
bureau of the department is that of the general land office. 
This patrols, surveys, and sells all the public lands of the 
nation. At the present time the government will give for a 
small fee a 160-acre farm to any citizen who will improve 
and cultivate the land for five years. It is because of the 
very liberal land policy of the government that our coun- 
try has been so quickly settled. 

The pension bureau. During the years the United States 
has been a nation it has paid out nearly four billions of 
dollars in pensions, fourteen-fifteenths of which have been 
due to the Civil War. All this money has been spent 
by the pension bureau of the Department of the Interior. 
It is only recently (1911) that the last pensioner of the War 
of 1812 died. In that same year the daughter of a soldier of 
the American Revolution was still receiving a pension. The 
accepted pension claims are so numerous that the documents 
weigh more than a thousand tons. 

The education bureau gathers information concerning 
the educational systems of the different states and of foreign 
countries. If some successful experiment in education is 
tried, a full report of it may be found in the records of this 
department. 

The patent office gives to inventors the exclusive right 
to manufacture and sell their inventions for a period 
of seventeen years. Such a permit is known as a patent. 
Each one who applies must send a stated sum and a model 



318 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



or drawing of his invention. A patent is granted if it does 
not infringe on any previous patent. Patents have been 
applied for on very curious things. A minister asked for a 
patent on an apparatus he had invented to find keyholes 
in the dark. Many devices to secure perpetual motion have 
been submitted. The patent office has granted patents on 




Courtesy of Forest Scrcicc, Washington, D. C. 
Separating Yellow Pine Seed from the Cones 



thousands of inventions of the greatest use to mankind. 
One has only to think of the cotton gin, the numerous 
electrical devices, the airplane, and the automobile to 
understand the value of inventive genius, and to know that 
it should be protected. 

The geologic survey makes maps of the surface of the 
country and its geologic formation. If the automobilist 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 



319 



wishes to have a correct map of any section, he may obtain 
from the government a map of the part of the country 
in which he wishes to travel. This bureau is conducting 
many experiments, also. It has brought about the manu- 
facture of " briquettes " from the coal dust and waste coal 




Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
Work of Forest Rangers 

Forest rangers sowing yellow pine seed during a snow storm. Note the 
snow on the rangers' hats. 



at the mouth of the mines. The great use of steel and cement 
construction is due in a large measure to the experiments 
conducted by this bureau. 

The bureau of mines investigates the most economical 
methods of mining, and conducts experiments to prevent 
explosions from gas or dust in the mines. Several stations 



320 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



have been established for the improvement of rescue work in 
the mines, and experiments are continually being made to 
find the best varieties of life-saving apparatus. 

The bureau of Indian affairs has charge of all the In- 
dian tribes except those of Alaska. It takes care of their 
money, land, schools, and general welfare. As soon as the 
Indian shows that he is able to perform his duties as a good 




Courtesy of United States Reclamation Service 
Ahrowrock Dam, Boise Project, Idaho 



citizen, he is " made to hoe his own row " in the same manner 
as any other American citizen. Perhaps the richest people 
in the world are the Osage Indians. There are over 
2000 Indians in the tribe. They own nearly two million 
acres of fine farm land and have about $9,000,000 in ready 
money. At the end of twenty-five years, each individual 
will receive his share if he shows himself capable of taking 
care of it. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 



321 



The reclamation service makes " two blades of grass grow 
where none grew before." Under the planning of govern- 
ment engmeers, wonderful dams and irrigation works have 
been built to hold and distribute water to dry sections of the 
country. Many millions of acres will be reclaimed in this 
manner. The land so reclaimed is sold in fortv-acre tracts for 




Courtesy of United States Reclamation Service 

Row OF York Imperial Apple Trees, Ashenfelter Orchard, 

NEAR Montrose 

These are grown on land irrigated by water from the Uncompahgre project 

in Colorado, (See text.) 



moderate sums, and a small tax is levied for the use of the 
water. As the money is paid, it is used by the government 
to build new works elsewhere. 

Some wonderful feats of engineering have accomplished 
the perfection of these irrigation systems. The Uncompahgre 
project is a typical example. In order to survey the route, 
men swung by ropes over precipices, clung to crevices in 



322 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

the rocks, and floated down unexplored rivers on rubber 
rafts. As a result of the survey, a tunnel six miles long was 
cut underneath a mountain, and the waters of the Gunnison 
River were sent into the Uncompahgre Valley to irrigate 
this great arid section. 

Department of Agriculture. — Agriculture is the basis of 
the wealth of the nation. Whatever will help the farmer to 
produce larger crops, show him new or easier methods of 
work, develop new crops, or eliminate the pests or dis- 
eases which cause him to lose millions of dollars each 
year, will add to the wealth of the nation and therefore to its 
greatness. The government maintains in various parts of the 
country, experiment stations where all kinds of agricultural 
experiments are tried. Cattle are experimented on to make 
them give more milk or put on more flesh. Foodstuffs are 
tested for their purity and life-sustaining qualities. Grains 
and soils are tested to find out the methods of forcing in- 
creased yields. Studies are made of the many destroying 
insects to find a remedy for their destructiveness. Not 
only insects but animal pests are fought. The rat that 
carries the plague, the starling that destroys crops, chip- 
munks, mice, and prairie dogs that demolish the work of 
reforestation are destroyed. Forest rangers patrol the forests, 
watch for and fight fires, drive out timber thieves, and con- 
trol the cutting of lumber. 

Men are maintained in all parts of the world to search 
for new or valuable crops that may be introduced into 
the United States. The government has brought dates from 
Egypt and the desert of Sahara, durum wheat from Russia, 
millet from Siberia, wild peaches from China, and many other 
plants from every region of the world, all of which have 
added many millions of dollars to the wealth of the nation. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 



323 



The government also saves millions of dollars' worth of 
property each year by maintaining the weather bureau. 
Each year its warnings concerning storms, frosts, and floods 
are sent broadcast. 

The government has placed this work under the care of the 
Secretary of Agriculture. Under his direction the experi- 
ments tried in his department are reported to Congress. 





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Courtesy of Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 

A Good Catch 
The result of fish propagation by the Department of Commerce. 

These are published by the government and may be obtained 
free by any who desire them. Under his care also is the 
free distribution of seeds of flowers and vegetables. 

The Department of Commerce. — One of the important 
acts which the federal government performs is to make a 
numbering of the people every ten years. This is called 
" taking the census." As the number of representatives in 
Congress is based on the census, its importance is readily 



324 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

seen. The 100,000,000 and more cards which represent 
the people in the United States would make a stack more 
than ten miles high. The first census cost only about S44,000, 
but the one taken in 1920 cost more than $20,000,000. 

This work is under the direction of the Secretary of Com- 
merce. In addition to this, he has other duties. He attends 
to the regulation of standards and measures and the propa- 
gation and distribution of fish. He maintains lighthouses, 
supervises navigable waters within the boundaries of the 
United States, and directs steamboat inspection, including 
the enforcement of the laws concerning wireless telegraphy. 

The Department of Labor. — You remember that the 
story of Pietro told of his coming to America from Italy, of 
his entrance into the United States, and of the naturalization 
of his father (see Chapter IX). Immigration and naturaliza- 
tion are the two most important bureaus of the Department 
of Labor. We have read also of the efforts made by the 
government to help the children by shortening working hours, 
bettering working conditions, etc. This is another bureau 
of the Department of Labor. In general this department 
through its executive head, the Secretary of Labor, has 
charge of all that pertains to the welfare of the wage earners 
of the country. It gathers labor statistics, tries to settle 
quarrels between employer and employee, and endeavors 
to advance the opportunities for profitable employment of 
those who work. 

The Cabinet. — The heads of these ten departments, 
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the 
Secretary of War, the Attorney -General, the Postmaster- 
General, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the 
Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Com- 
merce, and the Secretary of Labor, make up the cabinet of 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 325 

the President. If both the President and the Vice-President 
should die or be unable to fulfill the duties of the office of 
President, the first seven of the secretaries would succeed in 
the order named. This is the order in which the depart- 
ment heads were appointed. 

The choosing of the Cabinet. — When a new President 
takes office, he appoints the members of his Cabinet. Almost 
always an entirely new body of men is chosen, for since the 
President is responsible for the policy of the government, 
he wishes to have as his chief advisers men whom he knows 
and can trust. Two notable exceptions to this rule have 
been the retention of William Wirt as Attorney-General from 
1817 to 1829, and Albert Gallatin as Secretary of the Treasury 
from 1801 to 1814. If a new party comes into power, a 
complete change of the Cabinet is considered especially 
desirable. The men chosen are confirmed by the Senate, 
though this is usually a matter of form. They serve at the 
pleasure of the President. 

As Secretary of State, the President often chooses the man 
who was most responsible for his election, or who was a 
candidate for the nomination of his party. Henry Clay, 
James G. Blaine, and William J. Bryan were chosen for this 
reason. Mr. Roosevelt did not always choose men of his 
own party as members of his Cabinet, but those whom he 
thought best fitted for the position, a policy to be highly com- 
mended. If at any time a member of the Cabinet does not 
agree with the President, he is free to withdraw, or he may 
be asked for his resignation. 

Work of the Cabinet. — Though the President is not bound 
to accept the advice of his Cabinet, he usually does so. 
The story is told of President Lincoln that on one occa- 
sion when he called for a vote from his Cabinet, all the 



326 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

seven members were in favor of the proposition, Mr. 
Lincoln alone opposing it. After the vote was taken he an- 
nounced, '' The vote is seven ayes and one no. The noes 
have it," which meant that the President's vote counted for 
more than the seven ayes. Meetings of the Cabinet are or- 
dinarily held twice a week, and the President confers fre- 
quently with individual members, particularly during such a 
time of public peril as the war with Germany. At such 
a time there must be close agreement between the Presi- 
dent and his advisers, as the wheels of the government 
must run as smoothly as possible, and all the parts of the 
governmental machinery must work together. The salary of 
a Cabinet officer is $12,000. 

Government in other countries. — It is interesting to note 
the differences between the government of other countries 
and that of the United States. In England there is a Parlia- 
ment composed of two houses, the House of Lords and the 
House of Commons, the former hereditary and the latter 
elective. This body corresponds to our Congress. At the 
head of the government is a king or queen, who holds office 
by hereditary right. The Prime Minister, appointed by the 
king, and his Cabinet, are, however, the real rulers of the 
country. One of the English kings was compelled to accept 
ministers whom he did not like. One of them said to him, 
" Your ministers, Sire, are but the instruments of your 
government." The king smiled and answered, *' In this 
country the ministers are king." 

Since England is really ruled by the ministers, and they 
must represent the House of Commons, a new Prime Minister 
must be chosen whenever a new party gets control of the 
House of Commons. In such a case the king requests the 
leader of the party which has come into power to form a 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 327 

Cabinet. This Cabinet is recognized by law no more than 
our Cabinet was until recent years. It consists of eleven 
or more members, the number varying with the preference 
of the Prime Minister and the need of the times. It is not 
necessary that the Cabinet be chosen from one party ; indeed, 
during the World War, England was ruled by a " Coalition " 
Cabinet, that is, a Cabinet made up of the best men in the 
country, regardless of party. 

If at any time the Prime Minister does not have the con- 
fidence of the majority of the members of the House of 
Commons, he may resign, or call for a new election. If 
the election gives his party a majority of members in the 
House of Commons, he remains in office. If his party does 
not win the election, the Minister and his Cabinet resign, 
a new Minister is chosen by the King, and a new Cabinet 
is selected. So it is clear that the Cabinet regards itself 
responsible to the nation at large. 

The duties of an English Cabinet differ very much from 
those of the American Cabinet. The English Cabinet has 
seats in the House of Commons, makes up the annual budget, 
shapes legislation, determines the policy of the nation, and 
administers its laws. In secret session, it draws up the 
more important measures to be brought before the House 
of Commons. But no Cabinet would think of proposing a 
law which, in its judgment, was not favored by the people. 

At present practically all countries of Europe have national 
Parliaments modeled after that of England. In France the 
Parliament elects the President of the Republic, who in 
turn appoints a Prime Minister and a Cabinet. These 
ministers direct the government as long as they retain the 
confidence of a majority in the House of Deputies. (This 
body corresponds to our House of Representatives, and to 



328 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

the English House of Commons.) The President corresponds 
in power more nearly to the English King than to the Presi- 
dent of the United States. Even more than in England the 
government is centered in the Cabinet. 

Perhaps the most interesting of all the governments of 
Europe is that of Switzerland. Here is found the best 
example of a truly self-governing country. Switzerland is 
a republic consisting of twenty-two cantons. The govern- 
ment of the cantons, modeled after that of the United States, 
is composed of two houses, one the National Council, elected 
by popular vote, the other the Council of States with two 
delegates from each canton. These two houses in joint 
session choose a committee of seven to act as an executive. 
The President is merely chairman of this committee. Dur- 
ing his term of one year he has no more authority than his 
fellow members. In some parts of the country the members 
of the cantons meet together as the people in New England 
meet in their town meetings, to make their laws, elect officers, 
and levy taxes. The vote is taken by a show of uplifted 
hands. In others of the cantons the initiative and the 
referendum are used, not only for local laws, but also for 
federal laws and for Constitutional amendments. 

Questions for Investigation 

1. What power was given the Cabinet members under the govern- 
ment of the Confederate States? Do you consider this a wise plan? 
Why? 

2. Give the names of the members of the President's Cabinet. What 
do you notice concerning the states from which they come? What 
conckision do you draw from this? 

3. What are some of the differences between the Enghsh and the 
American Cabinet? 

4. Why is a President justified in disregarding the advice of his 
Cabinet as President Lincoln did ? 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISERS 329 

5. Make a comparison of the duties of the Secretary of State of 
the United States and those of the Secretary of State of your state, 
noting (a) similarities, (b) differences. 

6. Mention some of om* most noted Secretaries of State. For what 
are they noted? Mention some of oiu' noted ambassadors to foreign 
countries. 

7. To which of the departments of government would you apply 
for a passport ? To enter West Point ? To obtain free seeds ? To obtain 
information as to educational matters? To become a postman? To 
obtain government land ? 

8. Make a list of matters in which the Department of Agriculture 
is of great help to the farmer. Make a report to the class. 

9. Why is it necessary for the government to maintain fish hatch- 
eries ? What is done in these hatcheries ? Where are they located ? 

10. How could our foreign service be made more effective ? 

11. Write a composition on the subject: "The services of the 
Weather Biu-eau." 

12. Make an outline of the President's Cabinet as follows : 

Office Name of Official Duties 



CHAPTER XXII 

POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 

The officials chosen to direct our local community, as 
well as those who govern the state and the nation, are usually 
chosen from one or another of our political parties. A politi- 
cal party is a group of people who have the same opinion as 
to the carrying on of the affairs of the government and the 
policies it should follow. It may be a group from every 
state in the Union, for example the Republican or the Demo- 
cratic parties, or it may be a group joined together over 
some local issue, or whose ideas have not spread over the 
entire country. 

Early parties. — When the Constitution was formed, no 
provision was made for a government by party, yet it works 
as well as if it had been made with that purpose in view. Our 
government has always been a government of parties. In- 
deed, parties were formed almost before the constitutional 
convention had adjourned. The thirteen states were 
split over the question of adopting the Constitution as pre- 
sented to the people. The two parties which were formed 
were the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist parties. After 
the Constitution was adopted, there was no question upon 
which to divide, until another sharp division arose over the 
powers of the federal government and the interpretation 
of the Constitution. The parties formed at this time were the 
Federalist and the Democratic-Republican, the latter to be 

330 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 



331 



known in later years as the Democratic party. These two 
divisions of the people lasted until the close of the war of 
1812, and when that period was ended, only the Democratic 
party was left. 

For some years the Democratic party remained alone, and 
the period has sometimes received the name of " The Era of 



POliT 


ICAL OYSTER HOUSE, 

Cdeihnij 0.1 Saoc) 

cjaK Itfiwi, Stewed Roasted 





Cartoon Photographed by W. A. Gunn 
A Political Cartoon 

This shows Mr. Lincoln "eating up" his two political opponents, Mr. 
Breckenridge and Mr. Douglas. 

Good Feeling." This, however, is not a true title, as it was 
really a period of very bitter political hatreds. Rivalry 
in the party ran high, a rivalry which finally crystallized 
about two of the party leaders, Henry Clay and Andrew 
Jackson. Jackson's followers kept the old name of Demo- 
crats, and those of Clay took the name of Whigs. 

From 1840 to 1860 slavery was the most prominent 



332 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

question before the country and a division was not long 
in coming to the two great parties. They divided into those 
in favor of the extension of slavery and those opposed 
to it. The Whig party went out of existence, "choked 
to death by trying to swallow the Fugitive Slave Law," 
it was said. All those who were opposed to slavery or its ex- 
tension joined together into the Republican party, and in 
the election of 1860, elected Abraham Lincoln as President. 
The Democratic party was divided on the slavery question, 
a division which weakened the party so greatly that not until 
1884 was another Democratic President elected. 

Present party differences. — At the present time the dif- 
ferences between the two chief parties are not very great. 
This is especially true in time of danger to the country. 
Party lines are forgotten, and all join in facing the common 
foe. There may be differences of opinion as to what is best 
to be done, and just what is the best method of going about 
the business in hand. A '' little group of willful men " 
may obstruct the working of the government for a time, but 
not for long, for with the majority of party men it is the 
country first and party afterward. The greatest difference 
between the two parties is that one is in power and the other 
is out of power. The '' outs " are trying to get in and the 
'' ins " are trying to stay in. It is coming to be more and 
more an acknowledged fact that the people are looking, not 
so much at the party principles, as at the men to be voted 
for. This is particularly true of state and local governments. 
The man who is best fitted to perform the duties of the 
office for which he is nominated, has the best chance of being 
elected. 

Elections. — How the two great parties go about nomi- 
nating candidates for the presidency has been told in the 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 333 

chapter on the President. Let us examine this method a 
little more closely and find out how it is that the people cast 
their ballots for one or the other party candidates. Some- 
time before the term of office of the different elective office- 
holders expires, the parties become active in placing in 
nomination the men to succeed them. The nomination is 
accomplished in different ways in different states. 

Nominating conventions. — In some states it is possible 
for any citizen to announce himself as a candidate for office, 
and his name is then printed on the ballot. In others the 
voters of the party meet and choose their candidates for 
local offices, and their delegates to the nominating conven- 
tions of the party. The conventions, for example the nomi- 
nating conventions held to place the candidates for the presi- 
dency before the country, are composed of men elected by 
the parties from all parts of the country. The delegates 
from each party meet at some chosen place, and brilliant 
speakers, chosen by the party leaders, place in nomination 
the men who wish to run for office. The convention votes 
upon the names thus presented, and the ones elected by the 
convention are the chosen candidates of the party. 

Other methods. — In many states the nominating con- 
vention has been done away with. In some of the states the 
voters of the party meet on " primary " day and cast their 
ballots for their party candidates in a manner similar to 
that in which they vote at a general election. Those who 
receive a plurality of the votes cast, receive the nomination. 
In other states the method is by petition. A candidate 
may be nominated for office by filing with the proper officials 
a petition signed by a certain number of voters. Of all these 
methods of placing a candidate in nomination, the two latter 
show the tendencv of the people to take the election of their 



334 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



officials into their own hands, and out of the hands of the 
professional politicians who for so many years dictated the 
nominations. 

Qualifications for a voter. — Before a person can vote on 
election day for any of the candidates placed in nomination, 




Photo of the Cartoon by W. A . Gunn 

Political Cartoon 

This cartoon was published at the time of the election of Mr. Lincoln 
as President. It emphasizes the height of the two men and their personal 
appearance. Mr. Lincoln carries over his shoulder a maul to split rails. 
The negro tells Mr. Douglas that he must make some decision on the slavery 
question. 

he must have certain qualifications. The Constitution of 
the United States makes a general statement that the right 
of citizens to vote shall not be abridged on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude. As long as this 
condition is obeyed, the state is free to prescribe what other 
provisions it thinks best. In all states a person must be 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 335 

twenty-one years old in order to vote, and in all except 
Arkansas, registration is a necessary qualification. By an 
amendment to the Constitution, both men and women have 
the privilege of voting. In all states certain classes of peo- 
ple are forbidden to vote — lunatics, paupers, and con- 
victed criminals. 

Registration. — By registration is meant that all who wish 
to vote must appear at a certain time designated by law at 
certain places selected by the local government ; there they 
must record their name, age, address, and other facts which 
pertain to their qualifications as voters. This is done 
that fraudulent voting may be stopped. 

Voting. — Let us go to the polls in New York State and 
watch the casting of the ballots. When election day comes 
places are provided by the local officials where the ballots 
may be cast. This room where the balloting is done is 
divided into several little rooms, or " booths " as they are 
called, so that the voting may be in secret. Necessary 
officials are at hand, taken in equal numbers from the lead- 
ing political parties, to see that the purity of the ballot is 
securely guarded. A voter enters the room, the registration 
book is inspected, and he signs his name. This is compared 
with the signature formerly written on registration day, and 
then he is given a ballot. He steps to the booth and closes 
the door. With the pencil which he finds there he makes 
a mark (X) on his ballot before the names of the persons for 
whom he wishes to vote. He folds the ballot and coming 
from the booth gives it to the proper official. This official 
tears from the ballot a '' stub " which is attached and num- 
bered to correspond with the number on the ballot. The 
stub is dropped into the stub box, and the ballot is placed in 
the ballot box. Since the numbers of the stubs and the 



336 



COMMUNITY CIVICS 



ballots must agree at the final counting, it renders almost 
impossible the '' stuffing " of the ballot box. Sometimes 
a voting machine is used instead of printed ballots. Though 
their initial expense is great, they give great secrecy to the 

ballot, and make it pos- 
sible to get an accurate 
count of the votes very 
quickly. 

Some years ago all 
forms of corruption were 
possible at election time. 
Bribery was common, as 
the party workers could 
give a man money for 
his vote, and take him 
to the polls and watch 
him cast his ballot. To- 
day in most states party 
workers are not allowed 
within a certain distance 
of the polls, a distance 
which is plainly marked. 
No one but the proper 
officials and the police, 
if necessary, are allowed 
in the room where the 
votes are cast, and the ballot is a secret one (except in 
Georgia and South Carolina) patterned after one used 
in Australia. 

The short ballot. — Evils have grown up even with this 
system of voting. Candidates have become so numerous 
that it is impossible for the voter really to know for whom he 




Courtesy oj Empire Voting Machijie Company 
Voter Entering the Voting Booth 

When he pulls the handle the curtain 
closes and unlocks the machine. After 
voting, he reverses the handle which locks 
the machine, registers the vote, and opens 
the curtain. 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 



337 



is voting. In a recent election the voter was given a ballot 
eight feet long, upon which were more than two hundred 
names. A movement, known as the Short Ballot movement, 
is now under way in different parts of the country to shorten 
these ballots by electing fewer officials and giving those who 
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Voting a Split Ticket on a Voting Machine 



new, as it is the way in which we elect our national officers. 
We choose a President and give him great powers of appoint- 
ment and removal, and hold him responsible for the success 
or failure of his administration. It is thought that such a 
method of voting will enable the voter to cast his ballot more 
intelligently, and hold those in office to more strict account. 



338 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Duties of a voter. — Voting is a privilege, and when con- 
ferred becomes a duty. The duties of a voter have been 
summed up as follows : 

'' He should 

(1) vote whenever it is his privilege ; 

(2) try to understand the questions upon which he votes ; 

(3) learn something about the character and qualifications 
of the persons for whom he votes ; 

(4) vote only for honest candidates ; 

(5) support only honest measures ; 

(6) give no bribe, indirect or direct, nor receive one ; 

(7) place country above party ; 

(8) recognize the result of the election as the will of the 
people, and therefore as law ; 

(9) continue to vote for a righteous although a defeated 
cause as long as there is a reasonable hope of victory." 

Majority rule. — If the captain of the ball team to which 
you belong is to be elected or if a presiding officer of 'the 
society of which you are a member is to be chosen, when the 
election is held and the votes are counted, the one who re- 
ceives the most votes is the one elected. In other words, you 
are governed by a majority. It may be that the one for 
whom you voted was not the one elected, yet if you are 
a good member of the team or a loyal member of the 
society, you abide by the results of the election. In a simi- 
lar manner you will vote for the officials to preside over 
your governmental affairs, for ours is a government by the 
majority. 

Mr. Bryce says, " As self-government is based on the idea 
that each man is more likely to be right than to be wrong, 
and that one man's opinion must be treated as equally good 
with another's, there is a presumption that when twenty 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 339 

thousand vote one way and twenty-one thousand another, 
the view of the greater number is the better view." 

Seldom in our history has the majority used its power 
tyrannically. Knowing that they are responsible to all the 
people, those who have been elected take care to perform 
their duties properly. They know that if they do not, the 
majority by which they were elected will become the minority, 
and they will be forced from office. 

The Constitution of the United States and the state con- 
stitutions have so limited the powers of our law-making 
bodies that abuse of power by the majority has been rendered 
difficult. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are 
granted, the power of taxation is limited, and amendments 
may be made to the fundamental laws of the land. The 
minority always has at hand the weapon of public opinion, 
which often exerts so great an influence that a small minority 
becomes a large majority. 



Questions for Investigation 

1. Name the political parties prominent at the last election. 
What were some of the questions at issue at that time? 

2. Does your community vote by use of the printed ballot or by the 
voting machine ? Which do you consider the better way? Why? 

3. By what method are candidates nominated in your state? 

4. What are the necessary qualifications of a voter in your state ? 
How do these qualifications differ from those of other states ? 

5. Locate the polling place nearest your home. 

6. What are the laws of your state concerning bribery ? Is the bribe 
taker any better citizen than the bribe giver ? 

7. As a good citizen, what can you do to stop bribery ? 

8. When are elections held in your local community ? In the state ? 
Are they at a different time from the general election ? Whj^ ? 

9. Ask your teacher to hold an election in your classroom, conducted 
in a manner similar to your local elections. 



340 * COMMUNITY CIVICS 

10. What objections are there to contributions from corporations to 
an election fund ? 

11. What are some of the proper party expenses at election time? 

12. Who is the committeeman of each party of your ward or town ? 
What are his duties ? Who are the leaders of the parties in your com- 
munity ? 



CHAPTER XXIII 
HOW GOVERNMENT PAYS ITS EXPENSES 

It is clear from what has been said previously that gov- 
ernment needs a great deal of money to pay the expenses 
of its various activities. The laws of the state and of the 
nation specify that there must be a certain uniformity in 
the assessment of taxes, and that nobody may be exempt 
from the payment of taxes. (Charitable and religious 
institutions are exempt.) This is no more than fair, for 
people should pay for the help they receive from their gov- 
ernment. Thus it is that every one pays taxes, in one way 
or another, either directly or indirectly. The person who 
rents a house pays a tax indirectly, for part of the rent he 
pays to the owner must be paid for taxes. The law also 
provides that the debts of a community may not exceed 
a certain proportion of its taxable property, and that 
the taxes levied on imports shall be the same in all parts 
of the country. 

In general a tax should be just, that is, so levied that it is 
within the ability of the citizens to pay it, and so apportioned 
that those most able to pay bear their proportionate share. 

Each form of government, local, state, or national, has 
its own method of obtaining the money for its expenses. 
Let us see how the local community gets its money. 

Local taxation. — You have read in a previous chapter 
that one of the officials of the town or county is known as an 

341 



342 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

assessor or appraiser (see Chapter XVI). Each community 
usually has three such officials. Their business is to go about 
the community and place a value on the different pieces of 
property. This is to determine the share that each prop- 
erty owner should pay toward the support of the local 
community, the county, and the state. When the 
amount of the tax to be raised is known, this is divided by 
the total amount of taxable property as found by the 
assessors, in order to find the rate for the amount of tax for 
each person. The assessed value of each piece of property, 
multiplied by the rate, gives the amount of tax for each 
property holder. The money so raised is then divided 
into its proper proportion for the local community, the 
county, and the state. 

iVfter the amount of assessment for each person is made up, 
a day is set apart, sometimes known as '' grievance " day, 
at which time a property owner may appear before the 
board of assessors and protest his assessment if he considers 
it unfair. If he can prove to the satisfaction of the board 
that it is too much, the assessment is usually lowered. 

Each community has an official, either elected by the 
people of the community, or appointed by some important 
board or official, to collect the taxes, and turn them over 
to the proper official. The money is then spent according 
to the needs of the community. 

In addition to taxes, the most important source of income 
of a community, money is also obtained from fines imposed 
upon those who break the law ; for example, fines are im- 
posed upon those who speed their automobiles, or break the 
local traffic regulations. Fines are sometimes imposed upon 
those who are arrested and brought before the local judges 
for disorderly conduct. Such fines are turned into the treas- 



HOW GOVERNMENT PAYS ITS EXPENSES 343 

ury of the community. Communities also receive certain 
monies from the state, for example, money for educational 
purposes. Small amounts are received for licenses, for the 
sale of franchises, and in some states a poll tax is paid. The 
latter is a tax laid upon the head (poll) of each voter, and in a 
few commonwealths, no one may vote until his poll tax is 
paid. Three fourths of the revenue for all state and local 
taxes, however, comes from the tax laid on property, a 
tax used in all but a few states. 

Local communities are usually heavily in debt. Money 
is required to improve the streets, to erect public buildings, 
to construct sewers, and to support many other activities 
of the community. Too often the money of the community 
is wasted by incompetent or dishonest officials. The only 
way to remedy this is to elect officials who are honest 
and capable and who will give the same thought and care to 
community business that they would give to their own. 

State finance. — The Constitution of the United States 
forbids the states to tax goods entering or leaving their 
boundaries, they may not levy a tax on the capacity of a 
ship to carry goods, nor may they tax the buildings or the 
property or any agency of the national government. Aside 
from these prohibitions, and others contained in the dif- 
ferent state constitutions, the state is at liberty to tax any- 
thing it chooses. This gives a commonwealth large powers 
and makes it easier for a state to raise the money to pay 
its debts than it is for a local community. As in a local 
community the authority to spend money comes from its 
law-making body, so the power of the state to spend comes 
from the legislature. The authority of the law-making body 
comes from the people themselves. 

The largest source of income for most of the states is the 



344 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

property tax levied by the local community, which is divided 
between state, county, and local community. Probably 
three fourths of the revenue comes from this source. Some 
property is free from tax, churches and schools for example, 
and in some states household furniture is free, up to a certain 
value. 

Another source of income to the state is the tax on auto- 
mobiles. A license number on an automobile means that 
a tax has been paid to the state and permission granted to 
the owner of the car to operate it. 

Many states tax the transfer of property from one person 
to another by will, an inheritance tax. Others tax incomes 
above a certain amount, others the transfer of stocks and 
bonds from one person to another. It is expected that the 
income tax, now permitted by the federal Constitution, will 
soon become one of the largest sources of revenue. Some 
levy a tax on corporations, and some on mortgages. 

With the money that it raises by taxation the state carries 
on its many activities. It takes care of its dependent and 
needy, builds its roads, erects its public buildings, pays its 
officials, protects the lives and health of its citizens, and in 
some states provides insurance for those who work or are 
injured. The same evils are apparent in the spending of 
state money that are found in the spending of the funds of 
the community. The remedy is the same, honest and capable 
officials. The voting citizen has this matter in his own hands. 

National taxation. — When the national government taxes 
us it does it in such a manner that we do not realize that we 
are paying money for the support of the government. We 
pay direct taxes to the community and the state. To the 
national government the average citizen pays indirect taxes. 
These taxes are levied in several different ways. One of the 



HOW GOVERNMENT PAYS ITS EXPENSES 345 

most important sources of the federal government's income 
is from the tax levied on goods entering the country. This 
tax we know as a tariff. If you remember your lessons in 
history, you will remember that such a tax was levied at 
the first meeting of Congress in 1789. The question of 
whether a large or a small tariff should be levied is one which 
has divided our country into two parties. The Republican 
party has usually stood for a high tariff, which it holds the 
country needs for its revenues and to protect its industries. 
The Democrats have stood for a lower tariff, one which 
should bring in revenue, and not be a protective tariff. 
Several presidential elections have been fought over this 
question. 

The advantage of such a tax as the tariff, or any of the 
federal taxes, is that they are not felt by the one who finally 
pays the tax. The one who brings the goods into the country 
adds the amount of the tax to the cost of the goods and the 
one who finally purchases them is the one who really pays the 
tax. 

Effort to evade the tariff is called smuggling. Smuggling 
is punishable by a heavy fine, or by imprisonment, or by 
both. The federal government has a large force of officials 
at each port of entry on the borders of the country to see 
that goods are not brought into the country without the 
payment of duty. 

Another great source of revenue for payment of govern- 
ment expenses is the excise tax. This is a tax levied on the 
consumption, sale, or manufacture of goods within the 
country. It is sometimes called an internal revenue tax. 
It has usually been levied on the manufacture of liquors, to- 
bacco, and oleomargarine. It is collected by means of stamps 
which must be purchased by the manufacturers and placed 



346 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

on each package of goods to be taxed. The stamp on a 
package of cigarettes or of smoking tobacco is a familiar 
example. With the passage of the amendment to the Con- 
stitution prohibiting the manufacture or sale of liquor, one 
of the greatest sources of revenue has been taken away, 
and some other method of raising this amount must be 
found by the government. 

The third source of revenue of the national government 
is the income tax. This tax was made possible by the pas- 
sage of the sixteenth amendment to the Constitution. All 
persons who have an income over a certain amount must 
pay a tax to the government. A large amount of wealth 
throughout the country is in the form of stocks and bonds, 
and so is easily concealed and not reached by a general state 
property tax. This is not fair, as each person should con- 
tribute to the support of the government according to his 
ability. The income tax overcomes this difficulty, and the 
rich whose money is invested in the kinds of property that 
are easily concealed, now pay their just share in support of 
the government. Congress has also passed a law that 
levies a tax on corporations. 

The national government receives an income from the 
receipts of the post office, and also from the sale of public 
lands. The receipts from the post office are very large, 
but no one has yet made that department of our government 
self-supporting. To help meet the expenses of the war 
with Germany, a '' luxury " tax was levied, that is, taxes 
were placed on clothing and other articles above a certain 
value. This proved, however, a very unsatisfactory method 
of taxation. 

Bonds. — In order to meet unexpected or extraordinary 
expenses, local, state, and national governments are per- 



HOW GOVERNMENT PAYS ITS EXPENSES 347 

mitted to borrow money by issuing bonds. A bond is some- 
thing like a promissory note given by a private individual. 
The bond states the amount owed by the government, the 
amount of interest it pays, and the date of payment. Since 
the one who buys the bond is sure of his investment, these 
securities are eagerly sought by those who wish to invest 
their money safely, and yet receive a fair return. The 
Liberty bonds issued by the government during the war 
against Germany are good examples of this source of income. 
The state and local bonds usually bear a higher rate of 
interest than those of the national government. 
One of our leading political economists says : 
" The ever-growing demands that the Federal Govern- 
ment depart from its former narrow field [of taxation] are 
now so insistent and strong, that the states must apparently 
soon give up their exclusive control over the taxation of real 
estate and personalty [personal property]. The American 
people are no longer interested solely in finding the easiest 
means of securing the most revenue for the government ; they 
are now devoting more attention to those taxes which will 
shift the weight of government expense to the wealth of the 
country. The one thought which runs through the inherit- 
ance tax, the income tax, and all the newer forms of levy, 
is that the chief burden should be lifted from the poorer 
classes and made to rest upon those of more wealth." 

Questions for I]srvESTiGATioN 

1. What were the expenses of the government during the war? 

2. In addition to the ways mentioned in the text, give some ways in 
which your parents pay an indirect tax. 

3. How is the valuation of property made in your community? 
How many assessors are there ? How are they chosen ? What is their 
term of office ? 



348 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

4. The total valuation of the property of a community is $50,000,000. 
The expenses of the community are $500,000. What tax does a property 
owner of the community pay whose property is assessed for $5000? 
for $28,000? 

5. What is a board of equalization ? Why is such a board necessary ? 

6. When are taxes assessed in your community? When are they 
paid? To what official? What amount goes to the county? What 
amount to the state ? 

7. What income has your community aside from taxes? How 
much money was received from the state last year for the school 
fund? 

8. Has your community issued any bonds recently ? If so, for how 
much and for what purpose? 

9. What prohibitions are there in your state constitution in regard 
to local finance ? State finance ? 

10. From what sources does your state receive the most of its in- 
come ? Has your state a debt ? 

11. Is it a good or a bad thing for a state to have a debt? Why? 

12. From what state official is an automobile license obtained? 
What does such a license cost? 

13. Name some of the activities of your state for which it spends 
money. 

14. What is the name of the present tariff law ? Name other famous 
tariffs. Is the present tariff a high tariff or a low one ? 

15. At what presidential elections has the tariff been the most im- 
portant issue ? Which party won ? 

16. Should the one who finally consumes the goods pay the tariff ? 

17. What incomes are exempt from the federal income tax? 

18. Read what is printed on the face of your Liberty or Victory 
bond. Make a report to the class. 

19. Are there any instances of double taxation in your state, that is, 
a tax levied on the same thing by the state and the local authorities, 
or the state and national governments ? 

20. What disadvantage may arise from the fact that a federal tax is 
an indirect tax ? 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE MAKING OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 

The United States is a democracy. It is a government by 
the people for the people. All the officials who carry on the 
activities about which you have studied receive their power 
from the people. All our officials are public servants, al- 
though many of them seem to forget that. In order that 
these servants of ours may know their duties and just what 
powers they have, ''we the people of the United States" 
have drawn up a set of rules for their guidance. These 
rules we call the Constitution of the United States. Each 
state, too, has a constitution for the direction of its citizens 
and its state and local officials. Such a state constitution 
may not, however, conflict in any manner with that of the 
United States. 

This body of rules, or Constitution, was referred to by 
a great English statesman as the " most wonderful docu- 
ment ever struck off by the brain of man at one time." It 
is true that the document was actually written at one time, 
but it is not true that the Constitution was made at one time. 
It is made up of many ideas taken from many sources. 
These ideas had worked out successfully and for this reason 
were incorporated in the body of the document. The 
Constitution is the result of growth just the same as the 
Union is a result of growth. 

349 



350 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Early unions. — In our very early history the people had 
some idea of union. Several colonies joined together to 
form the New England Confederation in order to fight the 
French and Indians successfully. All our early unions were 
formed from some military necessity or to protest against 
wrong. In 1754 a congress was held at Albany to agree 
upon measures against the Indians. Here Benjamin Frank- 
lin proposed his plan of union of the colonies, but it came to 
naught. The Stamp Act Congress met in 1765 to protest 
against the workings of the Stamp Act, but this assembly 
did not last. It may be well to notice, however, that in 
the first instance, four colonies united, in the next, seven, and 
in 1765, nine. When the first Continental Congress met in 
1774, twelve colonies were represented. When, in the next 
year the second Continental Congress met, which was to 
last until 1781, all the thirteen colonies agreed to fight against 
the common wrongs and danger. In spite of the many 
things done by this Congress to carry on a form of govern- 
ment during the Revolution, one of the prominent men of the 
time called it '' a stable of stupid cattle that stumbled at every 
step." It did, however, draw up the Articles of Confedera- 
tion, but they were not accepted by the states until 1781. 

The Critical Period. — The congress elected under the 
Articles did not have much power. '' It could declare every- 
thing but could do nothing," because it was based upon the 
sovereignty of the states and not of the people. Washington 
said, ''We are one state to-day, and thirteen to-morrow." 
Foreign states would not recognize us. We did not keep 
our treaties nor pay our debts. The states quarrelled with 
one another, and each tried to get. the advantage over its 
neighbor states. Riots broke out in many states, and a 
company of drunken soldiers chased the congress from its 



MAKING OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 351 

meeting place. It is no wonder that we speak of this time 
in our history as the '' Critical Period." 

Preliminaries of the Constitution. — So critical did the 
times finally become, that at a meeting held in Annapolis 
to discuss methods of enabling Congress to regulate com- 
merce, it was suggested that a meeting be held in Philadelphia 
to revise the Articles of Confederation. Here, on May 
25, 1787, delegates came from all the states except Rhode 
Island. It, too, might have been represented, had not her 
greatest citizen. General Nathaniel Greene, a hero of the 
Revolutionary War, died of a sunstroke, a short time before 
the convention met. The convention went far beyond its 
instructions, for instead of revising the Articles, it drew up 
an entirely new document. 

When the Constitution was before the states for ratifica- 
tion, James Wilson, one of the delegates from Pennsylvania, 
told the following story : '' The business, we are told, which 
was entrusted to the late convention, was merely to amend 
the Articles. This has often brought to my mind a story told 
of Mr. Pope, [a great English poet,] who it is well known was 
not a little deformed. It was customary for him to use the 
phrase ' God mend me ' when any little accident happened. 
One evening a link [torch] boy was lighting him along, and 
coming to a gutter, the boy jumped nimbly over it. Mr, 
Pope called him to turn, adding, ' God mend me.' The 
boy turning to light him, looked at him and repeated ' God 
mend me ! He would sooner make a half a dozen new ones.' 
This would apply to the confederation, for it would be easier 
to make another than to amend this." 

The Constitutional convention. — The convention met 
behind closed doors. Washington was chosen to preside 
over its deliberations. Franklin, now eighty-one years old, 



352 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Hamilton, and Madison were among the most influential 
delegates. To Madison, perhaps, more than to any one else, 
we owe the Constitution. '' There were quarrels and much 
bitter wrangling and some of the delegates went home in 
disgust. There was a great danger that the convention 
would break up, when a compromise was reached." '' Yes," 
said Franklin, '' when a joiner wishes to fit two boards he 
sometimes pares off a little from both." Three times this 
" paring " took place, and compromises were reached on 
the questions of representation, its basis, and commerce. 

After the settlement of the compromises the convention 
decided the questions of the executive and the judiciary. The 
relations of the states to the national government were de- 
fined and the powers of Congress were decided upon. The 
great difference between the new document and the Articles 
of Confederation was that the American people and not 
the American states were represented in the government. 
It is to this difference we owe the fact that the Constitution 
has existed for so many years with so few changes. 

Some one at this time compared the United States govern- 
ment to an old man who had thirteen sons. " They had 
built a big house and all lived together for several years, 
when the sons grew weary of the paternal roof and each went 
out and built a hut for himself. Then trouble began : one 
had his corn stolen, another lost his sheep by wolves, an- 
other, his crop by flood, and so forth. At length twelve 
of them begged their father to take them back, and he gladly 
did so. But the thirteenth still held aloof and at last went 
and hanged himself. That thirteenth was Rhode Island." 

The signing of the Constitution was a very impressive 
occasion. When it was over it is said the members of the 
convention seemed awe-struck. Washington sat with head 



MAKING OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 353 

bowed in solemn thought. As the meeting was breaking up, 
FrankUn rose in his place, and pointing to the back of the 
President's chair, on which was pictured a half sun with 
blazing golden rays, said, '' As I have been sitting here all 
these weeks I have often wondered whether yonder sun is 
rising or setting. Now I know it is a rising sun." It was 
decided that the Constitution as written out should be pre- 
sented to Congress and then sent to the states for acceptance. 
When nine states, that is, two thirds of their number, should 
have agreed to it, it should become the fundamental law of 
the land. 

The ratification of the Constitution. — After Congress had 
accepted the Constitution there was much bitter opposition 
among the states to its adoption. " What do Hamilton and 
Madison know about making a constitution?" asked the 
people. They were only boys. As for Franklin, he was 
so old he was in his second childhood. Washington might 
be able to lead an army, but what did he know about poli- 
tics ? Finally one of the newspapers went so far as to call 
him a '' born fool." Nevertheless, one after another the 
states began to' ratify. In 1789 the ninth state, New Hamp- 
shire, ratified, and was followed shortly after by Virginia and 
New York. North Carolina and Rhode Island did not come 
under the " New Roof," as the new Constitution was popu- 
larly called, until after the inauguration of President Wash- 
ington. '' The acceptance of the Constitution of 1789 made 
the American people a nation, by giving it a national Gov- 
ernment with direct authority over all citizens." 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

Amendments. — The Constitution, which was made in 
the manner just described, has stood the test of time and 
has had comparatively few changes. The changes made 
fall into four groups. The first group is sometimes called 
the ''Bill of Rights " and is composed of the first ten amend- 
ments. They are so called because they prevent *' the 
National Government from violating the liberty of the 
people, or usurping the power of the states." 

When Congress met in its first session, 189 amendments 
were suggested ; out of these, twelve were passed by Con- 
gress and submitted to the people, and of these, ten were 
ratified and made a part of the Constitution in 1791. 

Many of these have been noted in previous chapters, but 
it may be well to summarize them here. 

(1) All persons, both citizens and foreigners, shall have 
freedom to worship as they please. 

(2) Speech and the press shall be free. 

(3) All shall be free from search or seizure both in their 
persons and in their homes without due process of law. 

(4) The rights of persons accused of crime are safeguarded. 

(5) Amendment ten gives a rule for the interpretation 
of the Constitution. 

The second group consists of the eleventh and twelfth 
amendments. The eleventh regulates the manner in which a 

354 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 355 

state may be sued. No one may sue any state without its 
consent. The twelfth provides for a change in the method 
of electing the President, as the one chosen at the making 
of the Constitution did not work well. 

The third group consists of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and 
fifteenth amendments, which were passed either during or at 
the close of the war between the states. This group legalized 
the freeing of the slave, confirmed his citizenship, and made 
him a voter. These amendments have not worked well in 
practice as they put the control of the South in the hands 
of a very ignorant class during the reconstruction period. 
They were passed in a time of great bitterness and have 
been considered a mistake. Some of our wisest statesmen 
have said that these three amendments should not have 
been passed until the slaves had been educated and taught 
what citizenship means. President Cleveland stated well 
the principle involved when he said, '' Before we have a 
citizen, we must first have a man." 

The last group, the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, 
and nineteenth amendments, have been passed in recent 
years. The sixteenth authorizes Congress to levy a tax 
on all incomes above a certain amount ; the seventeenth 
provides for the election of United States senators by the 
people of the states rather than by the state legislatures ; 
the eighteenth forbids the manufacture or the sale of in- 
toxicating liquors as a beverage ; and the nineteenth pro- 
vides for equality of men and women in voting. 

How the changes are made. — The Constitution provides 
the way in which these amendments may be made. Con- 
gress by a two-thirds vote of both houses — the Senate, and 
the House of Representatives — may propose an amendment 
to the Constitution. Such an amendment is then submitted 



356 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

to the states, and if passed by three fourths of the states, 
becomes a part of the Constitution. There are several other 
ways provided, but they have not been used. 

Contents of the Constitution. — With the changes men- 
tioned above, the Constitution has served as the basis of our 
government since its adoption. It states who the officials 
of the government are whom the people are to vote for, 
defines their duties, and states their powers. It specifies 
the amount of control the national government has over the 
states, and the general relation of the states with each other 
and with the nation. Certain acts are forbidden both to the 
nation and to the states, and arrangement is made for estab- 
lishment of the judiciary department of the federal govern- 
ment. 

The Unwritten Constitution. — Though the form of this 
immortal document has not been changed much, yet it is 
not because there has been no desire for changes; in fact 
more than two thousand amendments have been proposed 
at one time or another. It is because of the difficulty of 
amendment that so few changes have been made. For 
this reason there has sprung up what is known as the '* Un- 
written Constitution." The great body of laws and customs 
and the new powers our government has assumed make up 
the body of this unwritten constitution. It has become 
as fixed as though it had been written down when the original 
document was drafted. It has been called '' the flesh and 
blood of the constitution, rather than its skeleton." 

By it the powers of the President have been greatly in- 
creased. There is nothing in the Constitution which gives 
him the power of selecting a cabinet of advisers, but custom 
has made it an accomplished fact. It is only in very recent 
years that the Cabinet has been recognized by being men- 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 357 

tioned in a law. The President has the power of removing 
officials even though they have been confirmed by the 
Senate. A large amount of territory has been added to 
the United States, though the Constitution does not say 
that this may be done. During the great European War, 
the powers of the President were greatly increased through 
laws passed by Congress, that he might deal with the needs 
of the nation as they should arise. The electors who choose 
the President are not bound by any law to vote for the candi- 
dates of the different parties who are voted for at the 
November election, but, following the Unwritten Constitu- 
tion, they always do. The Constitution says nothing as to 
how many terms the President may serve, but by custom he 
is restricted to two terms. 

By this Unwritten Constitution, the powers of Congress 
and the judiciary have been increased. The committee 
system, by which a great amount of the business of 
Congress is carried on, is made possible by custom. 
Through the implied powers of the Constitution, Congress 
has established a national bank and the present system of 
Federal Reserve banks, has issued paper money, established a 
tariff, and permitted the President to appoint a commission 
to govern the commerce between the states. A member of 
Congress must reside in the district from which he is chosen. 
The right of the higher courts to interpret the meaning of the 
Constitution is now considered the greater part of their duty, 
though it was not so in the beginning. ''Thus the American 
Constitution has changed as the nation has changed ; has 
changed in the spirit with which men regard it, and therefore 
in its own spirit." 

State and federal control. — We have two governments 
which seem to cover the same ground and yet are separate 



358 . COMMUNITY CIVICS 

in their action. Mr. James Bryce, a celebrated English 
writer, says, " It (government) is like a great factory wherein 
two sets of machinery are at work, their revolving wheels 
apparently intermixed, their hands crossing one another, yet 
each doing its own work without touching or hampering the 
other. To keep the National government and the State 
governments each in its allotted sphere was the primary 
aim of those who formed the Constitution." 

Questions for Investigation 

1. Read the first nine amendments to the federal Constitution. In 
what ways do these amendments affect you ? 

2. What are the provisions of the federal income tax which affect 
you? 

3. Read the seventeenth amendment. Why was this amendment 
passed ? 

4. What territory has been added to the United States by treaty? 
Name other famous treaties in our history. 

5. Name some of the more important matters over which both the 
state and the nation have control. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR REFERENCE AND 
READING 

SOURCE MATERIAL 

The American City. 

Current Opinion. 

The Independent. 

The Literary Digest. 

The New York Times Current History. 

The Outlook. 

The Review of Reviews. 

The Search-Light on Congress. (Nat'l Voters League, Washington, 

D. C.) 
The Survey. 
The World's Work. 
The World Almanac. 
The Congressional Directory. 
The official book piibHshed by the state government, e.g. The Red 

Book of New York State. 

Bulletins issued by the state and federal governments, particularly 
Bulletins 23, 28, 41 issued by the U. S. Bureau of Education, and 
Circular No. 5, issued by the Massachusetts State Board of Education. 
Copies of local ordinances and bills and laws of the state. 

BOOKS FOR PUPILS 

Community Civics is not chiefly a text-book study, yet "a, text-book 
is desirable as affording a compact outline statement of social and civic 
activities." 

American Patriotism in Prose and Verse. Macmillan. Pocket Classics , 
Ames, Neiv York State Government. Macmillan. Represents a type 

of special pamphlet available for the study of the machinery of 

local and state governments. 

359 



360 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Andrews, The American's Creed and its Meaning. Doubleday, Page 
& Co. 

Antin, The Promised Ixind. Houghton Mifflin Co. 

Deming and Bemis, Stories of Patriotism. Houghton Mifflin Co. 

Dole, The Young Citizen. Heath. 

Dunn, Community Civics. Heath. 

Dunn, The Community and the Citizen. Heath. 

Franklin s Autobiography. Macmillan. Pocket Classics. 

Giles and Giles, Vocational Civics. Macmillan. 

Hale, E. E., Man JVithout a Country. Macmillan. Pocket Classics. 

Hughes, Community Civics. Allyn & Bacon. 

Leavitt and Brown, Elementary Social Science. Macmillan. 

Morgan, Roosevelt: The Boy and the Man. (School Edition.) Mac- 
millan. 

Nida, City, State, and Nation. Macmillan. 

Riis, The Making of an American. Macmillan. 

Roosevelt, Autobiography. Scribner. 

Roosevelt, Letters to his Children. Scribner. 

Smith, J. F., Our Neighborhood. Winston. 

Sullivan, Government of New York State. Scribner. 

Turkington, My Country. Ginn. 

Ziegler and Jaquette, Our Community. Winston. 

BOOKS FOR TEACHERS 

The books listed above for pupils. 
Ashley, The New Civics. Macmillan. 
Beard, American City Government. Century. 
Beard, American Citizenship. Macmillan. 
Betts, New Ideals in Rural Schools. Houghton Mifflin Co. 
Boynton, Actual Government of New York State. (For N. Y. State 

teachers.) Ginn. 
Boy Scouts, Hand Book for Scoidmasters, 527 Fifth Ave., New York 

" City. 
Boy Scouts, Manual, 527 Fifth Ave., New York City. 
Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth. Macmillan. 
Bryce on American Democracy. Macmillan. Pocket Classics. 
Burch, American Economic Problems. Macmillan. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR REFERENCE AND READING 361 

Burch and Patterson, American Social Problems. Macmillan. 

Cubberly, E. P., Improvement of Rural Schools. Houghton Mifflin Co. 

Curtis, Education Through Play. Macmillan. 

Davis, J. B., Vocational and Moral Guidance. Ginn. 

Ely and Wicker, Elementary Principles of Economics. Macmillan. 

Guitteau, Preparing for Citizenship. Houghton Mifflin Co. 

Hart, Educational Resources of Village and Rural Communities. Mac- 
millan. 

Haskin, American Government. Lippincott. 

Hill, Teaching of Civics. Houghton Mifflin Co. 

Johnson, Old Time Schools and School Books. Macmillan. 

Judd, Lessons in Community and National Life. U. S. Bureau of 
Education. 

Latane, From Isolation to Leadership. Doubleday, Page & Co. 

McFee, The Teacher, the School, and the Community. American 
Book Co. 

McNaught, Training in Courtesy. U. S. Bureau of Education. Bui. 
57. 

Macy & Gannaway, Comparative Free Government. Macmillan. 

Marshall & Lyon, Our Economic Organization. Macmillan. 

Munro, W. B., Government of American Cities. Macmillan. 

Powers, America Among the Nations. Macmillan. 

Rexford, Community Civics for the City of New York. Outlook. 

Roosevelt, American Ideals. Putnam. 

Simpson, Mabel, The Socialized Recitation in History. Macmillan. 

Steiner, The Immigrant Tide. Revell. 

Studebaker, Our Country's Call to Service. Scott. 

Sullivan, James, Government of New York. (For N. Y. State teachers.) 
Scribner. 

Towne, Social Problems. Macmillan. 

Wilson, International Ideals. Harper. 

Weaver and Byler, Profitable Vocations for Girls. Barnes. 

Weaver and Byler, Profitable Vocations for Boys. Barnes. 

For additional references see the Syllabus on Civics and Patriotism 
issued by the New York State Department of Education, and Circular 
No. 5 issued by the State Board of Education of Massachusetts. 



APPENDIX 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect 
Union, establish Justice, insm-e domestic Tranquihty, provide for the 
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings 
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America. 

Article I. 

Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

Section 2. [1] The House of Representatives shall be composed 
of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several 
States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications 
requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legis- 
lature. 

[2] No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained 
to the age of twenty-five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of 
that State in which he shall be chosen. 

[3] [Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several States which may be included within this Union, accord- 
ing to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those 
bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other Persons.] The actual Enumeration shall be 
made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the 
United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such 

363 



364 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives 
shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall 
have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall 
be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, 
Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, 
Connecticut five. New York six. New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, 
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

[4] When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, 
the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill 
such Vacancies. 

[5] The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and 
other Officers ; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. 

Section 3. [1] The Senate of the United States shall be composed 
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, 
for six Years ; and each Senator shall have one Vote. 

[2] Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of 
the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated 
at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expira- 
tion of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the 
sixth Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year ; and 
if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess 
of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make tem- 
porary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which 
shall then fill such Vacancies. 

[3] No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to 
the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State 
for which he shall be chosen. 

[4] The Vice President of the United States shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. 

[5] The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a Presi- 
dent pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he 
shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. 

[6] The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. 
Wlien sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. 



APPENDIX 365 

When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside : And no Person shall be convicted without the Con- 
currence of two-thirds of the Members present. 

[7] Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States : but 
the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indict- 
ment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. 

Section 4. [1] The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elec- 
tions for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each 
State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time 
by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of 
chusing Senators. 

[2] The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and 
such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
shall by Law appoint a different Day. 

Section 5. [1] Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, 
Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of 
each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Num- 
ber may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel 
the attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such 
Penalties as each House may provide. 

[2] Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish 
its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence 
of two-thirds, expel a Member. 

[3] Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from 
time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their 
Judgment require Secrecy ; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of 
either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one-fifth of those 
Present, be entered on the Journal. 

[4] Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without 
the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 



Section 6. [1] The Senators and Representatives shall receive a 
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by law, and paid 



i 






366 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, 
except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from 
Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, 
and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech 
or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other 
Place. 

[2] No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority 
of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emolu- 
ments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no 
Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member 
of either House during his Continuance in Office. 

Section 7. [1] All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur 
with Amendments as on other Bills. 

[2] Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives 
and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the 
President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but 
if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it 
shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on 
their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Recon- 
sideration two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it 
shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by 
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds 
of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes 
of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names 
of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the 
Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned 
by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 
have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner 
as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment pre- 
vent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. 

[3] Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except 
on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President 
of the United States and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be 
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 



APPENDIX 367 

two-thirds of tlie Senate and House of Representatives, according to 
the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. 

Section 8. The Congress shall have Power [1] To lay and collect 
Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide 
for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; 
but all duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the 
United States ; 

[2] To borrow Money on the credit of the United States ; 

[3] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the 
several States, and with the Indian Tribes ; 

[4] To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform 
Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

[5] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, 
and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures ; 

[6] To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities 
and current Coin of the United States ; . 

[7] To establish Post Offices and post Roads ; 

[8] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts by securing 
for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their 
respective Writings and Discoveries ; 

[9] To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court ; 

[10] To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on 
the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations ; 

[11] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and 
make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water ; 

[12] To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money 
to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years ; 

[13] To provide and maintain a Navy; 

[14] To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land 
and naval Forces; 

[15] To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws 
of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions ; 

[16] To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, 
and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service 
of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appoint- 
ment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia accord- 
ing to the discipline prescribed by Congress. 



368 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

[17] To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over 
such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession 
of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress become the Seat 
of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority 
over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the 
State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, 
Arsenals, dock- Yards, and other needful Buildings; — And 

[18] To make all Laws wliich shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers 
vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, 
or in any Department or Officer thereof. 

Section 9. [1] The Migration or Importation of such Persons as 
any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hun- 
dred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, 
not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. 

[2] The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be sus- 
pended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety 
may require it. 

[3] No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. 

[4] No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Pro- 
portion to the Census or Enumeration hereinbefore directed to be 
taken. 

[5] No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. 

[6] No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce 
or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another : nor shall 
Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or 
pay Duties in another. 

[7] No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence 
of Appropriations made by Law ; and a regular Statement and Account 
of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be pub- 
lished from time to time. 

[8] No title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States : And 
no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, 
without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present. Emolu- 
ment, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, 
or foreign State. 



APPENDIX 369 

Section 10. [1] No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, 
or Confederation ; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal ; coin Money ; 
emit Bills of Credit ; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender 
in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, 
or Law impairing the obligation of Contracts; or grant any Title of 
Nobility. 

[2] No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any 
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be abso- 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws : and the net 
Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or 
Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States ; and 
all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Con- 
gress. 

[3] No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty 
of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into 
any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign 
Power, or engage in War unless actually invaded, or in such imminent 
Danger as will not admit of Delay. 

Akticle. II. 

Section 1. [1] The executive Power shall be vested in a President 
of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the 
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen 
for the same term, be elected, as follows : 

[2] Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature 
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Num- 
ber of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be en- 
titled in the Congress : but no Senator or Representative, or Person 
holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an Elector. [The Electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall 
not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they 
shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of 
Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, 
in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all 



370 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person 
having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such 
Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; 
and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an 
equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall imme- 
diately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person 
have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House 
shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the Presi- 
dent, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each 
State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a 
Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority 
of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after 
the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number 
of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there 
should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall 
chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.] 

[3] The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, 
and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall 
be the same throughout the United States. 

[4] No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall 
be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be 
eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty 
five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United 
States. 

[5] In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his 
Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties 
of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the 
Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resigna- 
tion, or Inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring 
what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act 
accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be 
elected. 

[6] The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, 
a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during 
the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or 
any of them. 



APPENDIX 371 

[7] Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take 
the following Oath or Affirmation : — " I do solemnly swear (or aflBrm) 
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, 
and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the 
Constitution of the United States." 

Section 2. [1] The President shall be Commander in Chief of the 
Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he 
may require the Opinion, in Writing, of the principal Officer in each 
of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties 
of their respective Officers, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves 
and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases 
of Impeachment. 

[2] He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of 
the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and \\dth the Advice 
and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public 
Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other 
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law : but 
the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, 
as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, 
or in the Heads of Departments. 

[3] The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that 
may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commis- 
sions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Infor- 
mation of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Considera- 
tion such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, 
on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, 
and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time 
of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think 
proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; 
he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Com- 
mission all the Officers of the United States. 



372 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Section 4. The President, Vice-President and all civil Officers 
of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment 
for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other liigh Crimes and 
Misdemeanors. 

Article. III. 

Section 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested 
in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the 
supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Be- 
haviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Com- 
pensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance 
in Office. 

Section 2. [1] The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law 
and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United 
States, and Treaties made, or wliich shall be made, under their 
Authority; — to all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers 
and Consuls; — to all cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; 

— to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; 

— to Controversies between two or more States ; — between a State 
and Citizen of another State ; — between Citizens of different States — 
between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and 
foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. 

[2] In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers 
and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme 
Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before 
mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both 
as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regula- 
tions as the Congress shall make. 

[3] The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall 
be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said 
Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed \vithin 
any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress 
may by Law have directed. 

Section 3. [1] Treason against the United States, shall consist only 
in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving 



APPENDIX 373 

them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason 
unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on 
Confession in open Com-t. 

[2] The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of 
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, 
or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. 

Article. IV. 

Section 1, Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the 
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. 
And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which 
such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect 
thereof. 

Section 2. [1] The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. 

[2] A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony or other 
Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, 
shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction 
of the Crime. 

[3] No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the 
Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law 
or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, 
but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service 
or Labour may be due. 

Section 3. [1] New States may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the 
Jurisdiction of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the Junc- 
tion of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent 
of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

[2] The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all need- 
ful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property 
belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall 
be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or 
of any particular State. 



374 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in 
this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect 
each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legisla- 
ture, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) 
against domestic Violence. 

Article. V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on 
the Application of the Legislatvires of two-thirds of the several States, 
shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either 
Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes as Part of this Con- 
stitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several States, or by Conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; 
Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year 
One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect 
the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; 
and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
Suffrage in the Senate. 

Article. VI. 

[1] All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before 
the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

[2] This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which 
shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which 
shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the 
supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be 
bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State 
to the Contrary notwithstanding. 

[3] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, 
shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; 
but no Religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any 
Office or public Trust under the United States. 



APPENDIX 375 

Article. VII. 

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be suffi- 
cient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so 
ratifying the Same. 

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States pres- 
ent the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth 
In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names, 

G°. Washington- 
Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia 
[and thirty eight members from all the States except Rhode Island.] 



ARTICLES IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, THE 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGIS- 
LATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES PURSUANT TO THE 
FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION. 

[Article I ^] 
Congress shall make no law respecting an estabHshment of reli- 
gion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the free- 
dom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably 
to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

[Article II ^] 
A well regulated Mihtia, being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be in- 
fringed. 

[Article III^] 

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, with- 
out the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to 
be prescribed by law. 

1 First ten amendments proposed by Congress, September 25, 1789. Pro- 
claimed to be in force December 15, 1791. 



376 COMMUNITY CIVICS 

[Article IV ^] 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, sup- 
ported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place 
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

[Article V^] 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- 
famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, 
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, 
when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall 
any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy 
of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any Criminal Case to be a 
witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for 
public use, without just compensation. 

[Article VI ^] 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and dis- 
trict wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district 
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed 
of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with 
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining 
Witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his 
defence. 

[Article VIP] 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no 
fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of 
the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. 

' First ten amendments proposed by Congress, September 25, 1789. Pro- 
claimed to be in force December 15, 1791. 



APPENDIX 377 

[Article VIII ^j 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

[Article IX ^j 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

[Article X^] 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively, or to the people. 

Article XI ^ 

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens 
or Subjects of any Foreign State. 

Article XII ^ 

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least, 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in 
distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall 
make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for 
each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate; — The President of the Senate shall, in presence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates 
and the votes shall then be counted ; — The person having the greatest 
number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number 

1 First ten amendments proposed by Congress, September 25, 1789. Pro- 
claimed to be in force December 15, 1791. 

2 Proposed September 5, 1794. Declared in force January 8, 1798. 
■^Proposed December 12, 1803. Declared in force September 25, 1804. 



378 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no 
person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest 
numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, 
the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, 
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken 
by states, the representation from each state having one vote ; a quorum 
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a 
choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi- 
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before 
the fourth day of March next followng, then the Vice-President shall 
act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional 
disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of 
votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be 
a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person 
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority 
of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person 
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible- 
to that of Vice-President of the United States. 

Article XIII i 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as 
a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
victed, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

Article XIV 2 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce 
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens 

^ Proposed February 1, 1865. Declared in force December 18, 1865, 
2 Proposed June 16, 1866. Declared in force July 28, 1868. 



APPENDIX 379 

of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, 
liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor deny to any person 
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But 
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives 
in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members 
of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants 
of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United 
States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, 
or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced 
in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear 
to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such 
State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Con- 
gress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, 
civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, 
having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an 
officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, 
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or 
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may by two-thirds vote of each House, re- 
move such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insiu-rec- 
tion or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claim 
shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 



380 • COMMUNITY CIVICS 

Article XV ^ 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 

Article XVI ^ 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the 
several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

Article XVII ^ 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Sena- 
tors from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; 
and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall 
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous 
branch of the State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of each State shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies : Provided that the legislature of any State may 
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until 
the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

Tliis amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 

Article XVIII ^ 

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the 
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the 
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from, the United 
States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage 
purposes is hereby prohibited. 

1 Proposed February 27, 1869. Declared in force March 30, 1870. 

2 Proposed July 12, 1909. Declared in force February 25, 1913. 

3 Proposed May 16, 1912. Declared in force May 31, 1913. 

4 Ratified January 16, 1919. 



APPENDIX 381 

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have con- 
current power to enforce tliis article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3. Tliis article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of 
the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years 
from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. 

Article XIX ^ 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied 
or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex. 

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 

legislation. 

1 Ratified August 26, 1920. 



INDEX 



Accused, rights of, 162. 

Advisers of President (see Secretary). 

Aldermen, Board of, 

duties of, 258. 

how chosen, 257. 
Ambassadors, 302, 303. 
Americanization, 48, 138, 146. 
Animal life, 193, 194. 
Anti-trust laws, 216. 
Arizona, 281. 
Army, 75, 308-310. 
Arrest, 158. 
Associations, 92. 



Ballot, short, 336, 337. 
Banks, Farm Loan, 220. 

Federal Reserve, 220. 

kinds of, 219-221. 
Beauty, in back yard, 229, 230. 

in colonial homes, 11, 224, 225. 

in Dayton, 228. 

in modern homes, 225-228. 

in schools, 44, 230. 

laws for protection of, 238. 

of lawns, 228. 
Bill, how it becomes a law, 274-277. 
Billboards, 233-234. 
Bill of Rights, 354. 
Blacklist, 208. 
Bonds, 347. 
Boycott, 208. 

Boy Scouts, 28, 92, 93, 186. 
Bryce, James, 268, 269, 338, 358. 
Business and citizenship, 222, 223. 



Cabinet (see Secretary), 
choosing of, 325. 
members of, 324, 325. 
work of, 325, 326. 



Cable, 128, 130. 
Canals, barge, 107, 117-; 

Erie, 105, 106. 

Panama, 111, 113, 118. 

Sault St. Marie, 118. 

Suez, 119. 
Capital, definition of, 212. 

use of, 212. 
Capital and wealth, 213. 
Censorship, 134, 135. 
Charity, cost of, 181. 

medical, 177. 

Red Cross, 178. 

state institutions for, 179. 
Charters, 256. 
Checks, 218. 

Child Labor Committee, 199, 202. 
Children, duties of, 19, 122, 202. 

rights of, 15, 18, 19. 
City, beauty in, 225, 227, 231-233. 

charter of, 256. 

evil conditions in, 261. 

government of, 257-261. 

mayor-council type, 257-260. 
commission type, 262, 263. 
city-manager type, 263, 264. 

home rule of, 257. 

how a village becomes a, 255. 

judicial power in, 260. 

officials of, 259, 260. 

planning of, 238. 

ugliness in, 231. 
Clayton Act, 216. 
Cleveland, President, 97, 208, 293, 

296, 298. 
Clothing, 204-206. 
Clubs, 92. 

College, why go to, 42, 43. 
Colonial days, advantages of, 12. 
Combination type of government, 
250, 251. 



383 



384 



INDEX 



Combined districts, 36. 
Communication, beginnings of 
modern, 125. 

colonial, 123-125. 

good citizens and, 136. 

government and, 135. 

in war, 130, 131. 
Community, beginnings of, 7. 

definition of, 26. 

membership in, 28. 

varieties of, 27. 
Comparison of, houses of Congress, 
273. 

governments, 327-329. 

houses of state law-makers, 267- 
269. 

powers of President and governor, 
294, 295. 

powers of Secretaries of State, 305, 
306. 
Congress (see Law-makers), 60. 

powers of, 276-279. 
Connecticut, 246. 
Constable, 65, 69. 
Constabulary, 73. 

Constitution, amendments to, 354- 
356. 

changing of, 355. 

contents of, 356. 

making of, 351. 

preliminaries of, 351. 

ratification of, 353. 

unwritten, 356. 
Consul, 303, 305. 
Cooperation, 44. 
Corporation, definition of, 214. 

kinds of, 214, 216. 

schools, 39. 
Corporations and recreation, 90. 
County, formation of, 247, 248. 

government of, 248, 249. 

powers of, 250. 
Courts, children's, 157, 260. 

civil cases in, 161. 

criminal cases in, 160. 

solemnity of, 160. 

state, 167. 

Supreme, 168. 

United States, 167. 
Credit, meaning of, 217. 

uses of, 217-219. 
Critical Period, 350. 



Department {see Secretary). 
Des Moines, 263. 
Dickens, Charles, 176. 
Differences between, houses of state 
law-makers, 269. 

houses of national law-makers, 273. 
Duties, in school, 43. 

regarding fire, 70, 71. 

regarding health, 55. 

Education (see Schools). 

Bureau of, 317. 

early, 12. 

other means of, 45. 

reasons for, 46, 47, 172. 
Elections, 333. 
Electoral College, 272-293. 
Ellis Island, 142. 
Eminent domain, 61. 
England, government of, 326, 327. 
Erie Canal, 105-107. 
Evening schools, 40. 

Federation of Labor, 210. 
Finance (see Chapter XXIII) . 

of local community, 341, 342. 

of nation, 344-347. 

of state, 343, 344. 
Fireman, 69, 70. 
Fiske, John, 247, 248. 
Food, inspection of, 59, 60. 
Forestry, Bureau of, 186. 
Forests, control of, 188. 
Founding of a community, 1-7. 
Fourth of July, 71. 
France, government of, 327, 328. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 125, 352. 

Gallatin, Albert, 105. 

Geologic survey, 318. 

Girl Scouts, 94. 

Government, beginnings of, 5, 13. 

compromise type of, 250, 251. 

functions of, 242, 243. 

in home, 13, 14, 22, 23, 26. 

local form of, 251. 

duty of citizen in, 251, 252. 

of town, 245-249. 

relations of local and state, 266. 
Governor, duties of, 281-285. 

election of, 281. 

powers of, 281-285. 



INDEX 



385 



Hart, A. B., 304. 

Hasldn, 168. 

Health, early disregard of, 51. 

means of protection of, 55. 

modern ideas of, 52. 

of school children, 62. 

rules for, 62. 
Home, colonial, 11, 12. 

government in, 13. 

how government comes into, 26. 

importance of, 25. 

work in, 11. 
House of Governors, 288. 

Immigration {see Migration). 

causes of, 146-148. 

results of, 148-150. 
Inauguration, 294. 
Incorporated village, 254. 
Incorporation, meaning of, 253. 

process of, 253, 254. 
Indians, Bureau of, 320. 

trails, 99-102. 

writing of, 123, 124. 
Indictment, 159. 
IndustrJ^ 22. 
Initiative, 263, 270. 
Innocent, safeguards for, 156. 
Insurance, a method of saving, 222. 

fire, 72. 

life, 222. 
Interstate Commerce Commission, 
118. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 168, 247. 
Jitney Park, 239, 240. 
Jury, grand, 159. 
trial, 159-161. 

Labor, advantages of, 199. 

child, 199-202. 

division of, 197-199. 

Federation of, 210. 

Union, 207. 

women, 203, 204. 
Land office, 317. 
Lane, Franklin K., 48. 
Law-makers, citj", 257-259. 

county, 248-249. 

nation, 271-279. 

session of, 274. 

state, 267, 269, 270. 

town, 245-247. 



Laws, anti-trust, 216. 

for the home, 22. 

for protection, 73. 

reasonableness of, 154, 155. 

to help needy, 180. 
Lieutenant-Governor, 285. 
Lincoln, President, 34, 290, 296, 332. 
Lumber, saving of, 186. 

state control of, 188. 

waste of, 185, 186. 

Majority rule, 338. 
Massachusetts, 115, 246, 269, 281. 
Mayor, 259. 

Mediation, Bureau of, 208. 
Migration, 138-145. 

causes of, 146-149. 

government and, 151. 

reasons for, 147, 148. 

results of, 148, 149. 
Military Academy, 311, 312. 
Militia, 72. 
Minerals, 191. 
Mines, Bureau of, 319. 
Ministers, 303. 
Minnesota, 268. 
Modern ideas of health, 52. 
Money, manufacture of, 306, 307. 
Moonlight schools, 40. 
Morse, S. F. B., 128. 

National Guard, 72, 73. 
Natural resources, kinds of, 184. 

meaning of, 184. 
Naval Academy, 315. 
Navigation, 105-109, 191. 
Navy, 75, 313, 315. 
Needy, causes for the help of, 171, 172. 
Nevada, 268. 
New England, 81, 100, 104, 244, 245, 

249, 254." 
New Hampshire, 268, 353. 
New Jersey, 269, 281. 
New York, 36, 58, 62. 85, 90, 101, 

102, 105, 107, 109, 110, 115. 

152, 189, 191, 257, 268, 270. 

288. 
New York City, 7, 24, 53, 71, 87, 

125, 134, 142, 143, 206, 242, 

259, 260. 
Nominations, by conventions, 333. 
by other methods, 333, 334. 



386 



INDEX 



Obedience, 19, 20. 
Officials, city, 257-260. 

county, 249. 

nation, 297. 

navy, 315. 

state, 285-288. 

town, 246. 

war department, 313. 



Panama Canal, 112, 113. 
Parents, as teachers, 4, 12. 

powers of, 14. 
Passports, 305. 
Patent medicines, 60. 
Patent office, 317. 
Pennsylvania, 250, 251, 252, 284. 
Pension office, 317. 
Philadelphia, 51, 259. 
Pietro, story of (sec Migration). 
Pittsburg, 255. 
Play (see Recreation). 

education through, 9G, 97. 
Playgrounds, 84, 85, 87, 94. 
Policeman, 66-68. 
Political parties, differences in, 332. 

early, 330-332. 
Posse comitatus, 249. 
Post office, curiosities of, 127. 

work of, 125, 126. 
Poverty, education and, 172. 

intemperance and, 172. 

laziness and, 173. 

relief of, 174-181. 

war and, 173. 
Powers of local government, 251. 
President, election of, 292. 

judicial powers of, 298, 299. 

legislative powers of, 297, 298. 

power of, 295, 296. 

qualifications of, 290. 

salary of, 292. 

veto power of, 298. 
Private schools, 42. 
Protection, by constable, 68. 

by county, 72. 

by firemen, 69, 70. 

by nation, 74, 75, 76. 

by police, 66-68. 

by state, 72. 
Public Service Commission, 116, 136. 
Public Work, 252. 



Punishments, changes in methods of, 
163. 
colonial, 155, 156. 
new methods of, 164, 1G7. 
of a crime, 162. 

Quarantine, local, 57. 
national, 58, 59, 141. 

state, 58. 

Railroads, 109-111, 116, 118. 
Recall, 263, 270. 
Reclamation service, 321. 
Recreation, change in, 82. 

corporations and, 90. 

early, 80, 81. 

need of supervision of, 94. 

other means of, 85-90. 

reasons for, 95. 
Red Cross, 177, 178. 
Referendum, 263, 270. 
Relief, indoor, 174, 175. 

of poor children, 176, 177. 

outdoor, 174. 
Representatives, duties of, 273, 274. 

powers of, 273. 

prohibitions on, 274. 

qualifications for, 273. 
Rights, fundamental, 66. 

in school, 43. 

of children, 15. 

of accused persons, 162. 
Riis, Jacob, 25. 
Road, Cuml)erland, 104. 
Roads, early, 102, 103. 

in the South, 103, 104. 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 113, 288, 290, 

298. 
Ruskin, John, 224. 

Safety First, 77. 
Saving, methods of, 221. 
Schools, ad^^anced, 33. 

beauty in, 230. 

discipline of, 33. 

early, 30-32. 

play and, 96, 97. 

progress of, 34, 35. 

support of, 31. 

unit of, 35. 

varieties of, 37, 38. 



INDEX 



387 



Secretary, of Agriculture, 59, 118, 
322, 323. 

of Commerce, 119, 323, 324. 

of Department of Justice, 315, 316. 

of Interior, 316-322. 

of Labor, 324. 

of Navy, 313-315. 

of Post Office, 125-127, 316. 

of State, 301-306. 

of Treasury, 307, 308. 

of War, 313. 
Senators of the United States, duties 
of, 272. 

election of, 272. 

powers of, 272. 

qualifications of, 272. 
Service, 20. 
Sheriff, 249. 

Sherman Anti- trust Law, 216, 217. 
Slum, battle with, 25. 
Steamboats, 107, 108. 
Streets, care of, 52, 53, 55. 

importance of, 7. 

names of, 6, 7. 
Supervisors, 248. 
Sweat shops, 204-206. 
Switzerland, government of, 328. 

Tariff, 345. 

Taxation, local, 341-343. 

national, 344-346. 

state, 343, 344. 
Teachers, early, 31. 
Telegraph, 127, 128. 

wireless, 130-133. 
Telephone, 130. 

new, 133. 

wireless, 132. 
Tenements, evils of, 23-25, 236, 237. 

problem of, 237. 
Thoughtfulness, 21. 
Town, government of, 245-247. 

officials of, 246. 

settlement of, 244. 
Town meeting, 245-247. 
Trails, 99-102. 



Transportation, government and, 
113. 

local, 114, 115. 

modern, 113. 

national, 117-119. 

our share in, 119-121. 

state, 115-117. 
Trees, beauty of, 235. 

problems of, 236. 

uses of, 234. 
Trial, 160. 

Union, colonial, 350. 
Union, Labor, 207. 

Virginia, 244, 247, 248. 
Vocation, choosing a, 47, 48. 
Vocational schools, 39. 
Voting, process of, 335, 336. 

qualifications for, 334. 

registration before, 335. 

responsibilities of, 336, 

Washington, George, 24, 31, 51, 105, 

168, 290, 352. 
Waste and its removal, 53, 54. 
Water, government and control of, 
190. 

power, 189. 

pure supply of, 61. 

relation of forests to, 189. 

uses of, 189. 
Wealth, definition of, 183. 

elements of, 184. 

meaning of, 183, 184. 

what it is, 183. 
West Point, 311, 312. 
Williams College, 249. 
Wilson, Woodrow, 279, 288, 290, 296, 

298. 
Wireless telegraph, 130-132. 
Wireless telephone, 131-134. 
Work in colonial home, 11. 
World War, 42, 48, 62, 75, 93, 111, 
130, 134, 135, 304, 308. 



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